Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwizura
A violent robbery trio from Cowdray Park has been slapped with a combined 72 years in jail after unleashing terror across Bulawayo in a bone-chilling crime spree.
Fortune Nyathi (40), Big Boy Winston (32) and Aleck Ndlovu (27) were convicted on three counts of armed robbery by Western Commonage regional magistrate Sibongile Marondedze, who called them a menace to society.
“The city must be protected from such criminals. These offences warrant a long stay behind bars,” she declared as she handed each man 24 years in prison.
The robbers were part of a notorious gang that included Sipho Ncube and Dumisani Ndlovu, who both died in a shootout with police while trying to escape arrest.
According to principal prosecutor Milton Moyo, the gang used a firearm and an okapi knife to terrorise their victims during two robberies carried out within hours.
The first strike came on April 12 in Cowdray Park. The gang targeted a tuckshop run by Respect Nkomo. One of the thugs pointed a gun at Nkomo and forced him to shut the shop before dragging him inside.
“They ordered him to lie down and stormed the kitchen where his wife was. They demanded cash and fled with US$70, R1 000, a cellphone and a satchel of perfumes,” Moyo told the court.
Just an hour later, the same crew hit Suta Suta Service Station in Kelvin North, posing as customers.
They gave petrol attendant Brighton Ndlovu a 5-litre container and R100, pretending to buy fuel. As soon as he finished filling it, Nyathi fired a shot in the air.
Chaos erupted. Winston pulled out a knife and tried to stab a security guard, who managed to escape. Ndlovu wasn’t so lucky — he was beaten unconscious.
The gang robbed him of US$593, then pounced on another employee, Tsitsi Dzambara, stealing her cellphone.
Police tracked the gang using stolen phones. Winston was the first to be arrested and quickly gave up his crew. One of the stolen phones was found with his girlfriend, Tribeth Sibanda.
The sting operation turned deadly when Dumisani and Ncube tried to run. Gunfire erupted, and both were shot. They died at United Bulawayo Hospitals.
Police recovered key evidence, including a Villon V20 cellphone and a satchel linked to the first robbery.
The rest of the gang won’t be running anytime soon. They’ll be locked up until 2049.
