Armed robber killed, 2 injured in shootout Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi

Freeman Razemba Crime Reporter

A SUSPECTED armed robber was shot and killed while two others were seriously injured during a shootout with police at a service station near the Exhibition Park (formerly Harare Agricultural Showgrounds) in the capital on Wednesday night.

Police arrested two other suspected armed robbers while two others disappeared into the night.

All the suspects are from Bulawayo while one is a South African national.

Some of the suspects are believed to be members of the security services.

Police recovered a Norinco Pistol with four rounds of ammunition and a .38 Ross Revolver with two rounds of ammunition at the scene. Two spent cartridges were also recovered.

The suspects are a policeman, Dalubuhle Ndlovu (36), Precious Dube (40) and Meluleki Makhalima, who was shot and killed during the shootout.

Their two accomplices, Thulani Maphosa (30) and a Zimbabwean based in Hillbrow, South Africa, Michael Khanyiso Moyo (47), were arrested.

Those injured during the shootout were taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital where Makhalima was pronounced dead on admission.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday confirmed the incident and said the suspects had been operating from South Africa.

“Detectives from the CID Homicide received information that seven armed robbers were planning to rob a house in Greendale and they laid an ambush, together with officers from the Canine Section.

“During the night, the robbers arrived at the house and parked two getaway cars that they were travelling in, a South Africa-registered dark blue Golf VW 6, registration number FJ 03 FM GP and a Toyota Corolla, registration number AEC 7253,” he said.

The suspects attempted to jump over the security wall to gain entry into the house but were intercepted by vicious dogs.

One of them, Maphosa, who was wearing a balaclava and armed with an iron bar, then went to a certain house where police had laid an ambush and was arrested. Sensing danger, his colleagues drove away, heading towards the city.

The detectives then followed them and the robbers parked their vehicles, a Toyota Corolla and a VW Golf 6 at Glow Petroleum Service Station near the Exhibition Park along the Harare-Bulawayo Road.

They were then confronted by the detectives and one of the robbers fired shots towards them resulting in a shootout.

During the shootout, two other armed robbers, a South African and a Zimbabwean, sped off in the Golf VW 6. They have been identified as Sean, a South African national and a Zimbabwean only identified as Fundisani from Bulawayo.

Asst Comm Nyathi said investigations also revealed that Precious Dube was a wanted suspect over a cash-in-transit robbery which occurred near Connemara Prison on November 25 last year where US$334 000 was stolen from a Fawcett Security cash-in-transit van.

The armed robbers had mounted a fake roadblock donning police uniforms near Connemara along the Gweru-Kwekwe highway.

After stopping the vehicle, one of the robbers who was armed with an AK rifle, introduced himself as a police sergeant before ordering the driver to disembark. Two other robbers who were armed with pistols got into the vehicle and diverted it onto a gravel road before stopping.

Three more robbers armed with AK rifles emerged and disarmed the Fawcett team members, tied their hands and covered their faces with cloths. They then forcefully opened the back of the car and took $334 290 cash before disappearing.

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