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Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Court Reporter

TWO siblings from the Midlands province who ganged up and allegedly murdered a taxi driver in Bulawayo and a shop owner in Inyathi in Matabeleland North before stealing their property worth more than US$6 000 appeared in court yesterday.

Freddy Dube (36) of Toro village in Lower Gweru and Thinkwell Moyo (38) of Silobela allegedly fatally axed Dumenkosini Sibanda (26), a Bulawayo pirate taxi driver on April 16, 2018.

They later travelled to Inyathi where they fatally stabbed Andile Ncube (21), a flea market trader and robbed him of his merchandise including his car, a Honda Fit.

Dube and Moyo born of the same mother but different fathers, appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo facing two counts of murder.

Freddy’s father, Mr Elliot Dube yesterday took to the witness stand and narrated how his son, who had been away for years, returned home driving a stolen car, purporting to have bought it in South Africa.

“On April 18, 2018, at around 9AM, my son (Freddy Dube) arrived home driving a silver Honda Fit and he was in the company of Thinkwell Moyo whom I later discovered is my ex-wife’s son from another marriage,” he said.

Mr Dube said his son lied to him that he was coming from South Africa. 

“I got suspicious when I noticed that their car did not have number plates and when I questioned my son, he told me that he removed them because he did not want people to notice them. The number plates were kept inside the car,” he said.

Mr Dube said his son showed him a consignment of clothes and blankets which he had brought with him.

“He told me that the clothes were for sale and he even gave me some and we invited our neighbours to come and buy the clothes,” he said.

Mr Dube said a month later police came to his homestead looking for the two accused persons who were not around.

He said when Freddy spotted police upon his return, he tried to flee.

“The police officers managed to apprehend him and brought him back home. They conducted a search in my son’s bedroom in my presence and recovered two mats, a Samsung laptop, two cellphones and clothes,” said Mr Dube.

On May 30, detectives from Lupane CID went to Dube’s homestead and recovered more stolen goods from the people who had bought the items. 

The goods included several blankets, solar panels, shoes and radios.

Prosecuting, Mr Blessing Gundani said Sibanda, who operated a Honda Fit pirate taxi in Bulawayo’s central business district, was last seen by his employer on April 16 in 2018 at about 5.30PM parked between Herbert Chitepo Street and 6th Avenue while touting for customers.

The court heard that Sibanda informed his employer that he was waiting for his customer whom he wanted to pick at around 8PM.

It is alleged that the two accused persons hired Sibanda before they later robbed and killed him.

“On the same day at about 7PM, one Kudakwashe Mavhengere was driving to his plot in MacDonald area in Bulawayo along a dusty road when he discovered Sibanda lying motionless on the roadside in a pool of blood,” said Mr Gundani.

Mr Mavhengere immediately made a report to the police who attended the scene.

According to a post mortem report, the cause of death was a stab wound on the neck, assault, haemorrhage shock and perforated left jugular vein.-@mashnets