Online Reporter
Peter Matika | [email protected]
A BULAWAYO security guard linked to the sensational US$4.4 million Ecobank cash-in-transit heist has been denied bail after prosecutors claimed he was part of a money laundering syndicate and could tamper with witnesses.
Sibonginkosi Sibanda (49) of Cowdray Park suburb, who was initially arrested for armed robbery, now faces a money laundering charge after police admitted they had no solid evidence placing him at the scene of the October 2023 robbery. He remains in custody and is set to return to court on July 21.
The case took a dramatic twist last week when Sibanda’s lawyer, Prince Butshe-Dube of Butshe and Associates, tore into the State’s case and exposed glaring inconsistencies in the police’s handling of the investigation.
What was billed to be a nail-in-the-coffin hearing turned into a courtroom rollercoaster. Detective Assistant Inspector Tawedzerwa Shiriyapenga, the investigating officer, came under heavy fire during cross-examination.
Butshe-Dube grilled Shiriyapenga on why Sibanda was now facing different charges from those in his initial arrest. The detective fumbled when asked if the original charge was armed robbery. He denied it, only for his own affidavit written that same morning to contradict him.
The defence also pointed out that Sibanda had no prior convictions and had not fled when summoned for questioning. But prosecutors claimed he had bought multiple properties using proceeds from the heist and could interfere with investigations.
The court heard that the properties allegedly linked to Sibanda include two houses in Cowdray Park and Mbundane, two rural homesteads, a Honda Fit and a Hino truck. Some of the assets are said to be registered under his wife and daughter.
Despite the detective visibly losing his composure during questioning, he stuck to his guns and insisted Sibanda posed a flight risk.
Butshe-Dube argued that without evidence linking his client to the robbery, keeping him locked up was unjustified.
The Ecobank robbery, carried out in Bulawayo last year, remains the biggest cash-in-transit heist in Zimbabwe’s history. With the recent arrest of the Vumbunu brothers in South Africa, police believe they are edging closer to cracking the case.
But with the way things are unfolding in court, some are wondering whether justice is truly within reach, or if the biggest heist mystery is still far from being solved.
More to follow.
