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Mashudu Netsianda Senior Court Reporter
A DRUNKEN security guard allegedly robbed a Bulawayo man of his money and a bottle of opaque beer at gunpoint before threatening to shoot police officers who wanted to arrest him, a magistrate heard yesterday.

Bulawayo magistrate Marylin Mutshina heard this when Patrick Chikukwa, 65, of Tshabalala appeared before her facing charges of armed robbery and resisting arrest.

He was remanded in custody to October 19 and advised to apply to the High Court for bail.

Prosecuting, Kudakwashe Jaravaza said on October 1 this year shortly after 1AM, Chikukwa was in the company of a workmate driving to Bellevue Shopping Centre in a car belonging to Shield Security Company in response to alarms. As they were driving along Siyephambili Drive, they met Shaun Dube who was waiting for transport with his friend.

“Chikukwa offered the two men a lift and dropped them off at an intersection of Plumtree Road and Siyephambili Drive,” said Jaravaza.

The court heard that while Dube and his friend were waiting for transport to proceed to the city centre, Chikukwa resurfaced. He stopped the car and confronted the two men and demanded a 1,25 litre of opaque beer and $47 which he was carrying at gunpoint.

Dube managed to capture the car’s registration number and the name of the security firm and wrote it down on a piece of paper.

He then went to Donnington Police Station where he filed a police report.

The court heard that three police officers were deployed to Shield Security offices to look for Chikukwa.

“The three police officers went to Shield Security offices in Belmont and upon arrival they met a receptionist who then contacted Chikukwa,” said Jaravaza.

When Chikukwa arrived he was visibly drunk and the three cops ordered him to surrender his pistol, an FN Browning loaded with four rounds of ammunition.

The court heard that Chikukwa refused and he pointed the firearm at the three cops and they fled the scene and hid in one of the offices at the company’s premises.

They locked the door and phoned their superiors about their predicament. Members of the CID Homicide section were deployed to the scene and they arrested Chikukwa.