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Yeukai Karengezeka Court Correspondent

TWO security guards who picked up and kept US$53 000 dropped by robbers who raided Quest Financial Services in Belgravia, Harare last month have been jailed for two years.

Cornelius Muchikange (35) and Nesbert Kachungwe (35) of J and P Security Company were convicted of theft by Harare magistrate Ethel Chichera.

She sentenced them to 48 months in prison with a six-month suspension on condition of good behaviour. Another 18 months were suspended on condition that they repay US$18 650 which is still outstanding.

They shared the money, with Muchikange buying a Nissan Sylphy sedan for US$3 700 and a residential stand for US$6 000 in Eastview, Harare, and paying US$2 500 lobola.

Kachungwe bought a Nissan AD van for US$6 100 and building materials valued at US$1 000.

On February 25, at around 1.30 am, 12 robbers armed with a pistol, a drill, an iron bar, a bolt cutter and explosives approached head of operations at Quest Financial Services Daniel Mandizvidza (54) after breaking down the door to his bedroom in one of the buildings at his workplace.

They tied him up before ransacking several offices, using explosives to blast open a safe in the operations manager’s office and stole cash amounting to US$720 000, 120 Euros, and 10 500 rand which they loaded into plastic bags and a cardboard box.

The robbers were disturbed by the arrival of reaction teams from Safeguard Security Company and J and P Security Service. The court heard that the two guards now jailed had parked at the front of the premises.

During their escape, the robbers left a grinder, some fuse detonators, and a bag with two laptops and dropped US$5 000 cash on the premises before escaping using the back of the premises.

Once outside the premises, one of the plastic bags the gang was carrying was torn and all the cash dropped to the ground. The robbers fled without picking up the money.

Muchikange and Kachungwe found the cash amounting to approximately US$53 000 and shared it. On March 8, detectives from CID Homicide Harare received information that the pair had stolen the cash which was dropped by robbers at the crime scene and arrested the two in central Harare.

On March 7, Muchikange was approached by six men purporting to be police officers and took the remainder of the money he had which amounted to US$15 000. The same fake CID officers stole US$7 000 from Kachungwe.