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Fairness Moyana in Hwange 

TWO of the four notorious robbers who attacked a Catholic priest in Hwange before ransacking the church coffers have been slapped with 18 years in jail each.

Mehluli Ncube (38) of Lupane and Rostele Lostin Ncube of Victoria Falls who were facing two counts of robbery in aggravating circumstances, aggravated unlawful entry into premises and escaping from lawful custody, were convicted and sentenced to 18 years imprisonment each, by Hwange regional magistrate, Mr Mark Dzira. 

Their co-accused, Jerry Ngozo (36) of Bulawayo was acquitted of all charges due to lack of evidence while Nehemiah Moyo (46), also of Bulawayo, who was on bail had a warrant of arrest issued against him after he failed to attend court. 

On 30 November 2023, the two accused who were armed with a pistol and Okapi knives pounced on a security guard manning St Johns Mission Makwa in Hwange before attacking the priest in charge, Father Timothy John Peacock, assaulting him and leaving the two tied up and gagged. 

They went on to ransack the priest’s house and stole US$660, 370 Euros and 100 British Pounds and various items worth thousands of dollars. They were arrested near South Mining in Hwange on 2 December 2023, following a high-speed car chase. 

The court heard that on 30 November 2023 at around 0100hrs, the accused entered St Johns Mission Catholic in Makwa, Hwange through the main gate and approached Mr George Shoko, who was at an open space between the chapel and the mission priest’s house. 

They went on to point a pistol at him and ordered him not to move before they stabbed him with knives in the stomach. The court heard that one of the accused persons searched Mr Shoko and took his blue Itel A60 cellphone from his pocket. 

The accused persons then proceeded to the Priest’s house and broke the window before gaining entry and opening the doors. Mr Shoko was force marched into the Priest’s house and ordered to lie down.

They went on to tie his hands and legs with cables, tied a cloth over his face, covering the mouth and eyes. 

The accused then opened father Peacock’s bedroom and attempted to throttle him.

They then tied his hands and legs using some cable before threatening him with the two okapi knives and ordered him to remain silent. The accused then demanded valuables while assaulting him. 

The Priest eventually gave in to their demands and revealed that the cash was in the wardrobe. They took possession of his Huawei Y7 2018 model cellphone, used an iron bar to force open the wardrobe door, searched and took cash amounting to US$60, 370 Euros and 100 British Pounds. 

They proceeded to ransack all the rooms and took property, which includes gas tanks, laptops, electronic gadgets and other items worth thousands of dollars, which they loaded in their gateway car, a Mazda B1800 reg AAC2239 and drove away.

The victims were later found and untied by the mission secretary at about 0600hrs and a report was made at Hwange Police Station.

The Priest was referred to hospital for treatment and a medical report was produced in court. On 2 December 2023 police officers acted upon a tip off and managed to arrest the accused at South Mining Company along Victoria Falls, after a high speed car chase from Sinderella, Hwange.

Upon their arrest, police officers recovered two iron bars, an axe, a red bolt cutter, two okapi knives, two knives, two hammers, two sjamboks, a pair of catapult, screw driver, balaclavas, cables and gloves.

Mehluli was searched and found in possession of a blue Itel A60 cellphone in his pocket. They were escorted to ZRP Hwange where upon arrival, Rostele Lostin escaped from lawful custody, by jumping through the back of charge office window. 

Investigations by detectives led to the recovery of some of the stolen property in Lupane where Rostele Lostin was later found hiding at his girlfriend’s house. Mr Thulani Ncube appeared for the state.