Taxi hijackers get 10 years

pleading guilty to stealing two vehicles.
Forget Madamombe (27), Tonderayi Makuya (26), Collen Hamusayi (26) and Carrington Mutambarika pleaded guilty to charges of car theft when they appeared before regional magistrate Ms Memory Chigwaza.
Ms Chigwaza sentenced them to 10 years imprisonment each of which three years were suspended on condition of good behaviour.
A further two months were suspended on condition they each restitute US$23 on or before July 30 this year.
Appearing for the State, Mr Dumisani Mthombeni, had called for a lengthy custodial sentence arguing that any other sentence would trivialise the offence.
In mitigation, the four had told the court that they were family men.
The complainant in the first count is Masaiti Katsavara who is employed by Mini Taxis.
The agreed facts are that on May 18 this year at around 8pm the gang in the company of an accomplice only known as Brian who is still at large approached Katsavara pretending to be interested in hiring him.
Mutambarika pretended to be drunk to convince the driver. The other gang members told the taxi driver they wanted to take their drunken friend home in Mbare.
They directed the complainant to a dark place at the corner of Fourth and Mhlanga Avenue in Mbare.
Madamombe produced a screwdriver and pointed it at the Katsavara while another gang member who is still at large grabbed him from the back. They searched him and took away US$67 and drove to Ardbennie where they dumped Katsavara and drove off.
They later abandoned the vehicle the same night in Glen View 3 after it had a tyre puncture.
The car was valued at US$5 000. On the second count the gang is alleged to have robbed Mr Thomas Makanha of HP Taxis of his Toyota Spacio after stabbing him with a screw driver on the thighs and dumping him under a bridge in Prospect. Mr Makanha later freed himself and made a report that led to the juvenile’s arrest. The boy then led to the arrest of his accomplices. The taxi was found in Warren Park without the car radio, a modulator and other valuables.