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Nokutenda Chiyangwa Herald Reporter
Two South African men who allegedly admitted to coming to Zimbabwe to perform acts of armed robbery appeared in court yesterday facing three charges which include unlawful entry into the country. This comes as police have arrested three suspected armed robbers who were targeting and stealing commuter omnibuses in and around Harare.

Bhekezakhe Meyiwa and Bonginkosi Mbedu appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Rumbidzai Mugwagwa charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of articles for criminal use and entering the country by evasion.

The State opposed bail on conditions that had been submitted by the investigating officer Mr Sibusiso Ngwenya.
Mr Ngwenya told the court that since Meyiwa and Mbedu were both of South African descent and had illegally entered Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) was still not sure if the names they had provided were their real names as they had no identification.

He said the two accused admitted to being a part of a gang of robbers from South Africa who had come to rob Zimbabweans using guns.

Mr Ngwenya said since the two were experts at border jumping, they will likely abscond if they were set free as they did not have addresses in Zimbabwe.
The matter was remanded to tomorrow for bail ruling.

Prosecuting, Ms Linda Gadzikwa alleged that on August 18, Meyiwa and Mbedu entered Southlea Park Police Base in Harare with a small suitcase.

Constable Mathias Nyamugumura who was on duty became suspicious of the duo as there had been a report made of a shooting that had taken place at Mazvimbakupa Bar in Southlea Park in which the suspects matched the description of Meyiwa and Mbedu.

Const Nyamugumura then requested to search the duo.
During the search, he recovered a homemade shotgun, 12 rounds of ammunition, binoculars, a woollen balaclava and a pair of grey rexine gloves.

The duo was arrested and after interrogation they allegedly admitted that they were on a mission in Zimbabwe to commit robberies.

On the case of the suspected armed robbers, Criminal Investigation Department spokesperson Detective Inspector Portia Chinho confirmed the arrests and said the suspects were still assisting them with investigations.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Vehicle Theft Squad arrested three suspects for two cases of theft of motor vehicle as defined in Section 113(a) (b) of The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23,” Det Insp Chinho.

“The three suspects, Zachariah Mukambachaza, Sogodi Echipoti and Stanley Madakurwa were targeting commuter omnibuses.”

Det Insp Chinho said on April 17, at around 2045hrs, one of the complainants parked his Toyota Hiace at a parking space between Total Service Station and Nazareth Hospital along Simon Mazorodze Road in Mbare, Harare.
He secured his motor vehicle by closing the windows and locking the doors before going home.

When he returned the following morning, he discovered that it had been stolen, prompting him to report to the police.
Det Insp Chinho said the suspects had the commuter omnibus repainted to conceal the offence.

On August 14, detectives received information that the stolen kombi had been spotted at a garage at Chikwanha Shopping Centre and they made a follow up, leading to its recovery.
The commuter omnibus was now plying the Chisipiti – City Centre route.

In a related case, police arrested Stanley Madakurwa (28) of Mufakose for theft of a motor vehicle.
“Circumstances are that on August 13, 2018, at around 0500 hours, the complainant who was in the company of his conductor parked his Toyota Hiace commuter omnibus at Samuriwo Shopping Centre in Mufakose,” said Det Insp Chinho.

“The two disembarked from the commuter omnibus, leaving it idling with keys in the ignition and went to the market place. After a few moments, the suspect jumped into the commuter omnibus and drove off at high speed. The complaint and his conductor tried to give chase, but to no avail.”

The commuter omnibus was later spotted in Hatcliffe, leading to the arrest of the suspect who was driving it.
“The police would like to applaud members of the public for their support and cooperation in providing information which led to the arrest of the three suspects and the subsequent recovery of the stolen motor vehicles,” said Det Insp Chinho.