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POLICE in Bulawayo have arrested two men suspected to be part of a gang that has been stealing cars in the city. Shelton Gwatsvaira (30), of 11 Kay Avenue West Somerton who is believed to be the mastermind behind a number of vehicle thefts and Ezekia Ndodini (27) of H119 Njube were arrested on Sunday when police raided Ndodini’s place of residence following a tip-off from members of the public.
Gwatsvaira and Ndodini appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Sibongile Msipa on Thursday facing a charge of theft of a motor vehicle.
Gwatsvaira and Ndodini were remanded in custody and would next appear in court on Monday.
They last week allegedly stole a Toyota Corolla belonging to Mr Partson Chipandambira, a communications officer in the President’s Office based in Hwange.
The two are being represented by Mr Tanaka Muganyi of Dube-Banda, Nzarayapenga and Partners, who lodged a complaint that his clients were severely assaulted by police.
Mr Muganyi said his clients had been unlawfully detained in police holding cells for five days and Gwatsvaira was injured on his back and feet.
The magistrate ordered that the two be examined by a medical doctor while the prosecutor, Mr Malvern Nzombe should investigate the allegations of torture and over detention by police.
Allegations by the State are that on 23 May, Mr Chipandambira of C30 Number 5 Lusumbani in Hwange, parked his car at the corner of Herbert Chitepo Street and 13th Avenue while he entered a shop.
The court was told that the complainant locked the doors of the car.
Gwatsvaira and Ndodini who were in the company of an accomplice Jivas Chizunza who is still at large, allegedly forcibly opened the doors of the car using an unknown object and drove off. It is alleged that they fitted the vehicle with Mozambican number plates with registration number AAT636MP.
The court was told that Gwatsvaira drove the car to his uncle’s house, 261 Morgan Road in Killarney where he left it in the custody of a Ms Annah Dabvu.
Sometime last month, Chizunza allegedly approached Edmore Masaba of Pumula South who owns Ndachi Motors in Kelvin North and bought a wreckage of an accident damaged Corolla. The wreckage was registered in the name of Mr Deepackkumar Shubash Morar of Kumalo.
Chizunza was handed the registration book, which he and his accomplices later used to obtain a new set of registration numbers for the stolen vehicle.
The court heard that Gwatsvaira, Ndodini and Chizunza allegedly removed the chasis from the stolen vehicle and replaced it with the one from the wreckage and also painted the interior of the bonnet to conceal evidence.
It is alleged that the three misrepresented to a Ms Fungai Chandambuka, a motor vehicle registration agent that they had lost number plates of their vehicle and used Mr Morar’s vehicle registration book to buy a new set of registration number plates from Zimpost offices.
Ndodini implicated his alleged accomplices when he was arrested at his house, leading to Gwatsvaira’s arrest while Chizunza fled.
Some of the parts of the vehicle were recovered in Newton West where the three had dumped them.
The vehicle was valued at $6 570.
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