Five Men Arrested On 21 Counts Of Robbery

Melody Madzika

Police in the Midlands Province have arrested five men in connection with 21 cases of armed robbery.

The suspects are Calisto Barnabas Sakunya aged 25 of Chiundura, Richard Maingehama (41) of Mkoba 13, Gweru, Tafara Thompson Muzanenhamo (36) of Mkoba 6 Gweru, Farirai Brandy (43) of Ascort, Gweru and Romeo Tinashe Mkwada (31) of Mkoba 3 in Gweru.

The gang was arrested between 20 and 22 November and appeared in Gweru Court from 23 November for initial remand and were remanded in custody to 7 December for trial.

ZRP Gweru spokesperson Inspector Immanuel Mahoko, confirmed the incident.

“ZRP Midlands Province has accounted for a criminal syndicate and has arrested five men who specialized in committing robberies along Highway roads in and around the Gweru area. The gang was arrested between 20 to 22 November 2021and have since appeared in Gweru Court from 23 November 2021 for initial remand and they were remanded in custody to 7 December for trial.

“The gang’s mode of operation was that they pretend to be on their journeys and after travelling for some distance, they ordered the driver to stop and threatened to kill them with a pistol and knives before taking away properties,” he said.

Inspector Mahoko said that they have managed to recover some of the stolen property which includes motor vehicles, electrical gadgets and money.

He appealed to members of the public to work together with the police by providing relevant information during their investigations.

“So far the gang has been linked to 21 cases of armed robberies and the expectations are that more cases will be uncovered and more arrests will be made as investigations are continuing. May members of the public cooperate with us by supplying any information they think will be useful in these cases. You may contact CID for more.”