adminStephen Biti (40) and his accomplices who masqueraded as detectives from Marlborough Police Station also made the complainant to pay US$400 to evade arrest for buying stolen property.
Biti on Monday appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Anita Tshuma facing charges of robbery of a motor vehicle. Ms Tshuma remanded him in custody to January 23 and advised him to apply for bail at the High Court.
Prosecutor Mr David Magwegwe told the court that on December 29 last year, Biti teamed up with Bernard Chiweshe also known as Bento and two other unidentified men still at large, and went to the complainant’s residence.
The complainant’s name was not mentioned in court papers.
The five were allegedly driving a blue VW unregistered vehicle when they entered the complainant’s premises.
Upon arrival, Biti’s accomplices handcuffed him, pretending that he was under arrest and his accomplices who were armed with a pistol allegedly confronted the complainant who was in his bedroom and posed as police officers from CID Marlborough.
They allegedly demanded a Toyota Camry with South African registration numbers which the complainant had bought from Biti.
Biti’s accomplices, it is alleged, accused the complainant of buying a vehicle which had been stolen in South Africa and smuggled into the country.
As a result of the threats and impersonation, the complainant surrendered his vehicle to the gang. It is alleged that when the complainant surrendered the vehicle the gang demanded US$400 from him so that they would not press charges of buying a stolen vehicle against him.
After robbing the complainant, the gang drove away with the vehicle to Chiweshe’s residence at Eastview Gardens Flats in Harare.
The complainant later made a report leading to Biti’s arrest on January 5 and the recovery of the vehicle at Chiweshe’s residence.
Online Reporter