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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
A 50-year-old man from Beitbridge has been arrested by the police for staging an armed robbery with his nephew and stealing a Honda Fit, US$25 000 and R114 000 from his employer.
Herbert Nyakudya of Dulilvhadzimu, who is employed as a driver by Utilities Warehouse (Pvt) Ltd, is accused of having teamed up with his nephew whom he gave the cash before making a false report of a purported armed robbery to the police.
Indications are that on October 11 at around 7am, Nyakudya was assigned to take the company’s bookkeeper to their supervisor’s house in the Mabidi suburb where he was supposed to drop him.
Police officer commanding Beitbridge, Chief Superintendent Tichaona Nyongo said along the way, the man faked a vehicle breakdown and asked the bookkeeper to go and buy some fuel.
“Our investigations reveal that while the book keeper was away, Nyakudya called the second accused person (Knowledge Kondi, 33) to come to where was,” he said.
“The accused persons then drove along Beitbridge to Bulawayo Highway and upon arrival at the Zhopembe area, some 60km out of Beitbridge, Nyakudya gave his nephew a plastic bag containing the money to take it to the second accused’s rural home in Centenary and he switched off his Samsung A3.”
Chief Supt Nyongo said Kondi left the scene and travelled to his rural home with the loot and Nyakudya drove the car into a bushy area some 50 metres away from the road and dumped it.
He said the bookkeeper raised alarm when he could not locate Nyakudya and then teamed up with his supervisor to follow up on the vehicle since it had a tracker.
The two found him flagging vehicles, intending to hitch hike back to Beitbridge from the Zhopembe area.
“Upon approaching him, Nyakudya indicated that he was attacked by three armed robbers who forced him to drive to the area at gunpoint and that they had taken his cellphone and the money,” said Chief Supt Nyongo.
“An armed robbery report was then made to the police. Intensive investigations resulted in the man confessing to detectives that he had feigned an armed robbery.
“A follow up was then made to Centenary where US$22 540 and R114 400 was recovered from underneath Kondi’s bed. The two have been charged for theft and making a false report to the police. They will soon appear in court.”
Online Reporter