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Police spokesperson Superintendent Andrew Phiri confirmed the shoot-out at the nightclub saying investigations were still underway.
“I can confirm that a senior member in the police force was shot in the head while a detective constable was shot in the abdomen by robbers at Cape to Cairo Night Club just after midnight.
“The robbers were armed with pistols and fired shots randomly at the revellers in the nightclub before fleeing with cash,” said Supt Phiri.
Although he declined to reveal the identities of the policemen, a police source in Bulawayo said the deceased was Officer Commanding Serious Fraud Squad Chief Superintendent Lawrence Chatikobo and a Detective Constable Shoko.
The two officers were said to be on night duty monitoring the city centre.
Chief Supt Chatikobo, who was armed, was shot dead after he reportedly tried to foil the robbery.
Detective Constable Shoko was also shot and is now battling for his life at a Bulawayo hospital. Sources said the robbers were in their early 30s.
Narrating the attack, a patron who was in the nightclub said the robbers stormed the club at around midnight after a local jazz band had finished playing.
“I saw three guys holding pistols, one of them was at the main entrance and the other one was coming from the toilets while the third was in the crowd.
“They first fired a shot towards the stage because I was dimming the disco lights. One of the robbers then fired at me but people thought it was a firecracker.
“He then shot the constable in the stomach, after the policeman tried to disarm the robber. A woman was also shot in the leg,” said the patron.
He said the robber then shot a girl who was collecting money at the main entrance and then shot twice at the Chief intendent, who died on the spot.
“People then started screaming while the robbers went on to collect money from all the cash tills in the club before fleeing in a car that was parked outside,” said the source.
He said police officers arrived at the nightclub after 20 minutes by which time the injured had been taken to hospital. Superintendent Phiri yesterday said police officers had launched a manhunt for the gang of armed robbers.