Youths to wait longer for sentence

The remand for sentence followed a request from the trio’s defence counsel, Advocate Sabelo Sibanda of SKM Sibanda and Partners who said he needed time to study the record of the proceedings before he could mitigate.
A fourth member, Obert Musindo (32), of 64637/2 Tshabalala, employed as a general hand at Mpilo Central Hospital, had charges against him withdrawn at the close of the State case.

Mr Goodluck Katenaire for the State conceded that there was no evidence linking Musindo to the crime ence the withdrawal of the charges after plea.
The State proved that on 7 March this year, the trio, which was driving a blue kombi, approached the three complainants who are route marshals at Mac’s Garage, where they load commuter omnibuses that ply the Masvingo, Filabusi and Gwanda routes.

They ordered Messrs Wilson Makamba, Mugove Nhete and Danny Mpofu and a number of their colleagues into their vehicle and drove them to the Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial headquarters at Davies Hall against their will.
The State proved that they demanded $50 from each of the route marshals, saying the money was meant to buy fuel for party vehicles parked at Davies Hall.

They told them that if they did not pay, they would bar them from loading vehicles at the garage.
They told the complainants that once they paid the money on a daily basis, they would protect them from police harassment on the roads.
The complainants pleaded with them to reduce the money they were asking for, saying it was impossible for them to raise it.

They negotiated and ended up settling for $12 for the Masvingo route, $7 for the Filabusi and $5 for Gwanda routes.
The youths released the complainants at around 3pm, after holding them up for nearly two hours. They made an arrangement whereby the trio          would call them to get the money once they had collected it from vehicles plying their respective routes.

A trap was set up for the trio when they went to collect the money about 45 minutes after releasing the complainants.
Plain clothes detectives pounced on them when they showed up.