Zimpapers Logo

Raymond Jaravaza, [email protected]
THE six-member armed robbery gang who were shot at a tollgate along Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway early Tuesday morning unleashed terror on two shop attendants in Insuza area, Umguza District before ransacking and getting away with an undisclosed amount of cash, cell phones and other valuables.

They were adamant that there was gold in the shop and kept demanding access to the mineral during the attack.

The gang was later fatally shot during a confrontation with police detectives at the tollgate on the outskirts of Bulawayo on their way to the city aboard a Honda Fit vehicle.

This was after alert detectives had ordered the suspects to stop but instead they hit the boom gate and fired shots towards the police officers, leading to a shoot-out, police said.

One of the terrified shop attendants, Ms Sibonokuhle Nxumalo, narrated the ordeal to Chronicle yesterday. She said the gang was armed with pistols, knives and axes when they pounced at Young Money General Dealer Shop, one of two grocery shops situated deep in Insuza at Jiba village.

Ms Nxumalo said she was attending to customers at the grocery shop at around 8PM, shortly before closing, when two of the suspects came and bought cigarettes. The shop was closed and the gang later attacked around 11PM, demanding gold reportedly kept in safe.

“They were convinced there was gold in the shop, which was not the case. Gold mining activities take place in Nkosikazi area, which is far from here and our employer is not into gold buying or gold mining,” said Ms Nxumalo.

She said the armed robbers spent the day drinking alcohol in the modest rural shop.

“They just seemed like ordinary customers at the time. Little did we know that they were planning something sinister,” said Ms Nxumalo.

She said long after the shop attendants had retired for the night, the gang broke into the shop, tied the employees with an electric cable and ransacked the place.

“They were armed with pistols, knives and axes. They demanded gold and cash but were convinced that there was gold somewhere in the shop,” said Ms Nxumalo.

The stolen items included an unknown amount of cash, groceries, a 48-volt lithium battery, an inverter and an amplifier, a nine-kilogramme gas tank and cellphones.

It was only after the robbers had left that one of the terrified shop employees frantically sought help at a grocery shop next door and asked for a cellphone to call her employer, who was at another business she owns in Nyamandlovu.

“The call to my boss (Mrs Kholiwe Danisa Dube) was made around 01:30AM on Tuesday morning and she told us to seek refuge at a nearby homestead in case the robbers decided to come back while she called the police,” Ms Nxumalo said.

National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi could not be drawn to divulge more information last night saying his office will provide a further update today (Thursday) saying investigations were ongoing.

Commissioner Paul Nyathi

However, in an earlier statement, police had said the shooting occurred early Tuesday morning between 2AM and 4AM after the suspects loaded their loot into their getaway silver Honda Fit vehicle, registration number, AEY 4843 and fled.

Comm Nyathi said after a report was made to the police, the getaway vehicle was spotted moving towards the tollgate.

“Detectives ordered the suspects to stop but instead the suspects fired shots towards the police officers, leading to a shoot-out,” he said.

“The suspects went on to hit the boom gate at the toll gate. They were arrested and taken to United Bulawayo Hospitals where they all unfortunately passed on.”

Comm Nyathi said two pistols with four live rounds were recovered at the scene.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police reiterates that there is no going back in the fight against armed robbery syndicates in the country. Any form of confrontation by criminals will be responded to through appropriate measures,” he said.