Four robbers jailed for 12 years

Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
Harare magistrate Mrs Loice Mukunyadze yesterday slapped three robbers who are already serving life sentences with an additional 12-year jail term after she convicted them of robbing Mrs Ropafadzo Mukamba and her family in 2020.
Shepherd Chinhara, Kudakwashe Nyashanu, Edison Donza, who are currently serving life sentences, were jointly charged with Bigboy Munyari.
Mrs Mukunyadze ruled that the four were not first offenders and that robbery is a very serious offence since it involves planning and execution.

She said the four committed the offence in aggravating circumstances, and the law states that when a robbery is committed there is no provision for a fine but rather a long custodial sentence is imposed.

Mrs Mukunyadze said the court has to consider that the accused knew this before they committed such a heinous act.

It was the State’s case that the robbers went to Mrs Mukamba’s house and introduced themselves as officers from CID.

They told Mrs Mukamba that they were looking for her and misrepresented that they wanted to inquire about the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF) case which involved Jonathan Moyo (then Minister of Higher Education).

The court heard that the robbers requested to discuss the issue behind closed doors since it was sensitive.
Mrs Mukamba invited them into her dining room, and immediately the robbers handcuffed her and blindfolded her while claiming that their partner who was investigating the ZIMDEF case had arrived.

While she was being interviewed, the robbers asked Mrs Mukamba what she benefited from the ZIMDEF deal. She told them that she was given US$20 000 and the Mazda BT50 which was parked in the yard.

Chinhara and Nyashanu drove away in the two motor vehicles that were parked outside while their accomplices remained inside.

Mrs Mukamba’s husband arrived home and he was ordered to sit down and handcuffed. The robbers ransacked the house and found US$47 000 and R15 000 plus two laptops and two Huawei cellphones, before forcing the family into the unregistered Honda Fit belonging to Mrs Mukamba.

They drove towards Beatrice and stopped at Kingston Farm. At around midnight the robbers tied their victims with a rope onto the car seats, got out of the vehicle, and set it ablaze before running away.

The complainant’s husband managed to untie himself and untied his wife before the car was completely burnt.
When Beatrice police attended the scene, they found the shell of the burnt vehicle.