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Zvikomborero Parafini
THE businessman, who was a target of the armed robbery which was being planned by the late Godknows Machingura and his gang, testified in court yesterday and painted a graphic image of how the gang wanted to abduct and rob him.
The gang had three South African nationals and their Zimbabwean counterparts and was led by Machingura, who was shot and killed by police in an operation to counter the group’s criminal activities.
District public prosecutor, Tafara Chirambira, opened his case by leading evidence from businessman Paul Chimbodza, who explained how he got to know Paul Enerst Muzenge Zhou, who is alleged to have connived with the South African nationals.
Zhou is one of the suspects whose gang also includes Ndiafhi Makhado 39, Andrew Masubelele 38 and Emmanuel Makamo 22.
“The first time I interacted with Zhou was when he was leading a philanthropic campaign on behalf of a colleague who had gone through a difficult phase,” said Chimbodza.
“Zhou got to know that I was a high school friend of the colleague that needed help, I don’t know how he got to know about it, but he reached out to me and narrated the circumstances surrounding our friend and that we needed to pull together and help him, which we did. It’s in the process of our interactions that Zhou told me that he had a solar installation company after which I went to contract him to install solar power at my premises.
“I contracted him to do solar power at my two properties, at my business premises and at my rural home and referred him to do a solar installation at a colleague’s house in Harare.”
Chimbodza said he made the payments in cash at his home office.
“Late evening, on November 28 last year, I got a phone call from my brother who advised me that detectives wanted to see me.
“A meeting was arranged for me to see the detectives and we met at a restaurant in town. I wasn’t informed of the reason why they wanted to see me.
“Upon arrival, I got introduced to a number of detectives and was advised that the detectives had information that they wanted to share with me and the information pointed to the fact that there was a planed abduction and robbery of myself.
“I was informed that the abduction was supposed to happen during my morning jog.
“I woke up around 4am the next day to go for my jog and as I went out of my gate I noticed a vehicle that had been mentioned in the previous meeting with the detectives.”
He added:
“It had been mentioned that the police had information that the same vehicle would be used and it was a gold Toyota Fortuner, which was parked about a 100m from my gate, facing the direction of my house.
“The car started driving towards me and I went back to my gate and I had two detectives who were overlooking my front perimeter wall.
“I was instructed to get inside and, as the vehicle approached my gat,e another vehicle which I later learnt belonged to the detectives came in front of my gate.
“The gold Toyota Fortuner drove past my gate and sped off.”
Chimbodza was asked two questions only during cross examination by the defence lawyers in which he told the court that he didn’t get occasion to see the occupants of the Fortuner.
The trial resumes on June 26.
Online Reporter