Man nabbed after 15 years for murder and robbery

Mashudu Mambo
THE long arm of the law has finally caught up with a 39-year-old man from Nkulumane suburb in Bulawayo who allegedly robbed and killed a man at a bottle store 15 years ago.

The accused, Justin Mpofu popularly known as Ryan Ncube was nabbed after a tip off.
Circumstances are that on 14 April 2010 at about 7pm, Mpofu together with his co accused Thabani Solomon Mahlaba (now deceased) and Shadreck Zvigo who is still at large arrived at the bottle store armed with pistols.

The trio fired warning shots and ordered all patrons to lie down. In the process of firing randomly, they shot the now deceased Peter Sithole on the head and he died on the spot.

The gang jumped over the counter and stole R528, two speakers, two cellphones and an amplifier, they fled the scene.

Mahlaba was arrested in Zvishavane on 24 April 2010 after a shootout with detectives. He led to the recovery of two pistols, two disco speakers and an amplifier.

On 11 January 2025, the police received information that Mpofu was planning to go to a house in Nkulumane suburb and they acted on the information leading to his arrest.

The police conducted a search on his white Toyota Mark X and they recovered a black pellet pistol, a silver okapi and the culprit’s license which indicated that he had changed his name to Ryan Ncube

Bulawayo acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele applauded the efforts of the public and urged like minded people to desist from violent conduct.

“As the police, we appreciate the help from the public in supplying us with information that led to the arrest of the accused person.

“We also warn the public that no matter how long one plans to flee after committing an offence, they should bear in mind that the long arm of the law will finally catch up with them. The accused person thought that he was clever by running away for 15 years not knowing that his case is still pending as they say ‘Icala aliboli’.

“We urge members of the public to desist from violent conduct as this can lead to unnecessary loss of lives. The police are appealing to anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Shadreck Zvigo to visit any nearest police station,” she said.