Online Reporter
Getrude Manyande [email protected]
A 20-YEAR-OLD woman from Fort Rixon in Insiza and her boyfriend have each been jailed for six years for teaming up with four accomplices to rob her former employer of US$700, car keys and two gold pans in a violent midnight raid.
Patricia Sibanda of Phakani Village and her boyfriend, Thabani Makhosi Nzimani (20) of Silobela, were convicted of robbery by Bulawayo regional magistrate Mrs Sibonginkosi Mkandla.
The pair were each sentenced to eight years in prison, with two years suspended for five years on condition that they do not commit a similar offence during that period, effectively leaving them to serve six years behind bars.
Prosecuting, Ms Karen Gundani said on April 29 at around 1AM, the complainant, Mr Phenias Munda, was asleep in his bedroom hut when Sibanda, Nzimani and their four accomplices — Leo
Langton Chivundo, Philani Ndlovu, Promise Ncube and Emmanuel Ngwenya — attacked his homestead.
The court heard that the gang forcibly opened the bedroom door using an unidentified object before storming inside. “They were all wearing balaclavas and armed with a shocker, hoe handle and a knife and carrying a torch,” said Ms Gundani.
One of the robbers stood at the doorway holding a shocker while another flashed a torch in Munda’s face. The gang then restrained Munda, tying his hands with wire as they demanded money.
“One of the accused persons, who was armed with a Colombia knife, stabbed him once on the nose, once on the left palm and once on the back, and he sustained some injuries,” said Ms Gundani.
The court heard that Sibanda then went to the wardrobe, took US$700 and the car keys and handed them to Nzimani.
The gang subsequently got into Munda’s car, a Mazda Premacy, which was parked at the homestead and drove away.
However, their getaway was cut short when they were involved in a road traffic accident along the Bulawayo-Harare Road near the Heaney Junction turn-off.
“They later dumped the vehicle along Bulawayo-Harare Road near Heaney Junction turn-off after being involved in a road traffic accident,” said Ms Gundani.
The robbers fled on foot after abandoning the stolen vehicle.
Munda reported the robbery to the police, leading to the arrest of Sibanda and Nzimani, while their four alleged accomplices remain at large.
Police have since launched a manhunt for the four suspects. The total value of property stolen during the robbery was US$5 200, with property worth US$4 500 subsequently recovered.
