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3 suspected armed robbers denied bail

Yeukai Karengezeka

Court Correspondent

THREE suspected armed robbers appeared in court charged with robbing a couple of US$9 000 and 25 000 Japanese Yen at gunpoint.

The accused, Talkmore Masanga (45), Tafadzwa Kupeta (22), and Steven Mahachi (51), faced the charges before Harare regional magistrate Mrs Tildah Mazhande, who advised them to apply for bail at the High Court.

They are scheduled to return to court on January 17 for routine remand.

Prosecutor Mr Anesu Chirenje outlined the events that took place on October 17, 2024, around 9pm.

The complainant, Godswill Okpala, was in the dining room with his wife, Evelyn Okpala, when they heard a loud noise at the main gate followed by their dogs barking.

The accused allegedly used a large hammer to break the gate lock and forced their way into the property.

Sensing danger, Mr Okpala pressed a panic button and evacuated his wife to the ceiling for safety. He then escaped through the back door, jumped over the precast wall, and sought refuge at a neighbours’ house.

Once inside, the suspects targeted the family’s staff. They confronted the gardener, Breridon Mwandifa, who was sleeping in the dining room.

He was manhandled and had his hands tied with cables. The robbers then moved to the spare bedroom where the housemaid, Susan Marumere, was sleeping.

She was also tied up and assaulted with a wooden stick while the suspects demanded information about the whereabouts of Mrs Okpala and any money in the house.

The robbers ransacked the bedroom and stole US$9 000 and 25 000 Japanese Yen, which was in a wardrobe drawer. While some of the robbers focused on the main house, others went to a nearby cottage on the property, where they confronted a tenant, Audrey Musori, who was sleeping with her young child.

They broke the cottage window, entered the room, assaulted Ms Musori, tied her hands with cables, and stole an Itel cellphone and US$800.

To intimidate neighbours who had begun gathering outside, the suspects fired several shots and left behind a 10-pound hammer in the yard before fleeing.

After the incident, Ms Musori found her stolen cellphone dumped in the yard, and the matter was reported to St Mary’s police station, prompting an investigation.

On October 18, members of the public discovered three blank spent cartridges outside the complainant’s gate and alerted the police. Officers collected the cartridges for forensic examination.

Subsequent police investigations led to the arrest of the three accused, who were found in possession of several firearms, including a 9x19mm Walther P38 pistol, a 4.5 KWC air gun, two 9mm blank Retay pistols, and six 9mm live blank cartridges.

The recovered firearms were sent for ballistic testing, and on November 5, the ballistic report confirmed that the cartridges recovered from the complainant’s residence were linked to the firearms seized from the suspects.

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