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The Herald July, 08 1992

Two Bindura men who shot dead a taxi driver and made away with an undisclosed amount of money have been sentenced to death by the High Court.

Sentencing Brian Chareka (23) and Noah Mbewe (22) to death, Justice Adam, described the murder of Moses Muskwe, as “callous”. The fact that Chareka knew the taxi driver gave weight to evidence that the offence was committed more out of greed than need.

Justice Adam said there were no extenuating circumstances in the case of Mbewe who took the proceeds of their common enterprise of robbery after the shooting.

“There is nothing you (Mbewe) did at the scene to show that you wanted to purge your association with Brian, for example, by either running away from the scene or refusing to take a share of the proceeds,” he said.

Mbewe was arrested on December 09 last year about a month after the murder and led the police to Chareka, who was arrested in Harare.

The murder weapon, a Berrtta pistol, was recovered concealed in a mattress belonging to Mbewe’s brother-in-law at Chipadze Township in Bindura.

On his arrest, Chareka admitted stealing the pistol from Noel Mundwa of 113 Hay Road, Bindura.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

Most gun crimes are committed by unlicensed gun-owners, who usually get the weapons for the purposes of committing a crime.

Criminals usually obtain weapons through theft (illegal), straw purchases (illegal), and some had been simply lost.

There has been an increase in robbery cases in the country, and it has been noted that offenders are in most cases heavily armed.

The police recently got involved in a gun fire exchange with robbers and a number of these dangerous people have been shot and killed.

The public should also help to alert the police on any suspicious activities which may point to robberies and any form of illegal firearm use.