Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
Two men have each been sentenced to an effective seven years in prison for armed robbery by Harare regional magistrate Mr Donald Ndirowei.
Mr Ndirowei handed down the sentence to George Gift Dandemutambe (28) and Calvin Wellington Mashongera Gasura (28) after they were convicted of robbing Norton farmer and shop owner, Farai Israel Mwaita.
Prosecutor, Mr Tendai Tapi, proved that on November 16, 2019, at around 1 am, Dandemutambe and Gasura, along with four accomplices still at large, Timothy Moyo, Robson Manezho, Lovemore Tembo and Edmore Mapondera, ambushed Mwaita at his home.
Dandemutambe was armed with a 7.65 mm Bernadelli pistol, while Gasura was carrying an unidentified rifle.
As Mwaita parked his Nissan Hardbody and got out, the gang intercepted him, assaulting him with rifle butts, kicks, and fists while demanding cash.
They robbed him of ZW$2,800, US$480, two cellphones, and car keys. They threatened to kill his wife, Chengetai Chipo Teguru, and force-marched her into the bedroom, broke open a gun cabinet, and stole an air gun, a 22 rifle, and US$500.
They also stole ZW$800 and US$650 from various spots in the house. The robbers tied the family members with curtain strips, ransacked the shop on the property, and stole groceries.
They loaded the stolen items into Mwaita’s vehicle and fled and abandoned the car two days later in Norton’s Damafalls area, minus the battery.
On April 28, 2020, detectives arrested Dandemutambe and Manezho at Katanga Business Centre.
They recovered a Bernadelli pistol with five live rounds after searching Dandemutambe. He later led police to a maize field in Norton, where he had buried Mwaita’s rifle.
Most of the stolen property, valued at ZW$460 400 out of a total ZW$573 0551, was recovered.
Timothy Moyo and Edmore Mapondera were arrested but absconded after being granted bail.
