Trio jailed 72 years for violent robbery spree

Dalyn Chigwizura

THREE men behind a spate of violent armed robberies in Bulawayo have been sentenced to a combined 72 years in prison.

Fortune Nyathi (40), Big Boy Winston (32) and Aleck Ndlovu (27) — all from Cowdray Park suburb — were each convicted of three counts of armed robbery by Western Commonage regional magistrate Mrs Sibongile Marondedze.

The trio operated as part of a gang alongside Sipho Ncube and Dumisani Ndlovu, who both died in a police shootout during their attempted arrest.

In handing down the sentence on Wednesday, Mrs Marondedze described the gang as a danger to society and said justice demanded a lengthy custodial term.

“We need to protect the city of Bulawayo from such criminals. A lengthy prison term is warranted to reflect the seriousness of these offences,” she said.

The magistrate sentenced each of the three men to 12 years per count, with the second and third counts set to run concurrently, bringing each individual’s effective sentence to 24 years.

The prosecutor Mr Milton Moyo, told the court that the gang committed the robberies in April, using a firearm and an okapi knife to intimidate their victims.

The first incident occurred on 12 April around 7 PM in Cowdray Park, where the gang targeted a local tuckshop operated by Respect Nkomo.

“They rang the bell and when Nkomo opened the door, one of the accused pointed a firearm at him, forced him inside and ordered him to shut the tuckshop window,” said Mr Moyo.

The robbers ordered Nkomo to lie on the floor and stormed into the kitchen, where they confronted his wife and demanded cash.

The gang made off with US$70, R1 000, a cellphone and a satchel containing perfumes before fleeing the scene.
The court heard that an hour later, the gang struck at Suta Suta Service Station in the Kelvin North industrial area.

Masquerading as customers, they approached a petrol attendant, Brighton Ndlovu and Nyathi handed him a 5-litre container and R100, requesting diesel.

“After the attendant filled the container, Nyathi fired a gunshot into the air, ordering Ndlovu and his colleagues to lie down,” Mr Moyo told the court.

Winston brandished an okapi knife and attempted to stab a security guard, who managed to flee. They attacked Ndlovu and left him unconscious.

The robbers stole US$593 from Ndlovu and then turned on another employee, Tsitsi Dzambara, from whom they snatched a cellphone before fleeing. Police launched an intensive investigation using cellphone tracking technology, which led to the arrest of Winston. He later implicated his co-accused during interrogation.

One of the stolen phones was recovered from Winston’s girlfriend, Tribeth Sibanda.
During the arrest, suspects Dumisani and Ncube attempted to flee, prompting a shootout with detectives.

Both were shot and later pronounced dead upon arrival at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH).Recovered items included a Villon V20 cellphone and a small satchel linked to the first robbery.