Zimpapers Logo

Crime Reporter

Police are still making frantic efforts to identify the suspected armed robber who was found dead on Monday morning just outside Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare.

Detectives conducting investigations on the case took the armed robber’s fingerprints to the Civil Registry Department to assist in identifying him.

They are still waiting for the results.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said they had intensified investigations on the case.

“The body has not yet been identified and we are still conducting investigations on the case,” he said.

The silver Honda Fit in which he was found in was also reported to have been stolen in Parktown, Waterfalls, last week.

As investigations into the death intensified, the suspected robber found dead by a security guard around dawn was believed to have been part of a gang of armed robbers.

The man’s body was discovered with wounds on the chest and stomach, and was lying on the back seat of the vehicle which was parked near the main hospital gate along Mazowe Street.

The car and the injured man were probably dumped by accomplices who hoped that it would be discovered in time to give the man medical treatment.

Investigations have so far revealed that the vehicle was stolen in Waterfalls last Wednesday night.

The Herald has it on good authority that the owner parked his car on Wednesday at around 10pm before retiring to bed after locking all the doors. Around 5.30am the next day he found his vehicle was missing and reported the theft to the police.

Police believed that the suspected robber and his accomplices were using it as a getaway car in other crimes. The vehicle had a single registration number plate (ADW 5062) attached on the front and no rear plate.

In the vehicle, police recovered several cellphones, housebreaking equipment, a crow bar, a golf stick, beer bottles and electrical cables, among other goods and clothes.

Although no other complainant has so far approached the police, it is believed that the suspected armed robber might have been seriously injured while committing crimes in the company of his accomplices.

A report was made to the police who attended the scene.

Meanwhile, police are investigating a robbery case in which seven unknown suspects, armed with iron bars and bricks, attacked two complainants who were on duty at a company premise in Waterfalls on Wednesday at around 3.45 am.

The suspects disarmed one of the complainants of a 303 rifle and disappeared into the darkness.

In another unrelated case, police have warned the public against engaging in shoddy deals.

This follows the arrest of four suspects, Sympathy Muzondiwa (29), Lawrence Jakara (37), Tanaka Mahuni (24), and Charles Mukangaya (24), for kidnapping in Harare.

The suspects allegedly kidnapped Thabelo Mududusi (36) and Tebogo Lesly Khupe on Tuesday after one of the suspects had been conned US$40 000 by the two complainants in early March 2023 before the two became evasive.