The suspects raided a primary school in Bulilima District in Plumtree and attacked some of the teachers. They got away with R7 110 and US$33 from the school.
They also stole cellphones belonging to the teachers, nine laptops and a projector donated to the school by Deputy ICT Minister Dingimuzi Phuthi in August 2022.
According to a police report seen by CITE, the suspects were armed with machetes and “a rifle-like weapon which was covered with a cloth leaving out the muzzle”.
The suspects also pounced on a local illegal fuel dealer and stole P5000 and R3000 and four cell phones.
The suspects were identified as Mabale Abinel Dube of Dombodema village, Melusi Mehluli Mkhwananzi (32) a Corporal in the Armour squad 1 company, Mailos Charles (33) a police officer based in Fairbridge and Crispen Ngwenya (33) a member of the military intelligence.
The complainants are Nkosinomusa Moyo who is employed as a caretaker at Unangoni Ndlovu’s homestead, Patience Phiri and Tamilika Ncube both teachers at Mathambo primary school, and Sinikiwe Gambiza, the deputy headmistress.
According to the police report, on 11 May at around 2100 hours, the security officers raided Unangoni Ndlovu’s homestead and found Moyo asleep. Reads the report:
One of the accused persons asked to buy petrol from Moyo who in turn opened the door for the accused persons.
The three accused persons entered the house and suddenly demanded some cash whilst producing machetes and a rifle-like weapon which was covered with a cloth leaving out the muzzle.
Moyo told the accused that the cash had been collected by her employer who was not around.
They threatened to assault Moyo and ordered her to surrender fuel which they sprinkled on all household property threatening to set the house alight if Moyo did not give in to their demands. Says the report:
Nkosinomusa Moyo gave in to the accused’s demands and led them to her employer Unangoni Ndlovu’s bedroom where she gave them P5000 and R3000 in cash.
They also stole four cell phones.
At around midnight, the suspects broke into Gambiza’s house, and she hid under the bed with cash belonging to the school which she intended to take to the bank the following morning. Reads the report:
The three accused persons left the house and proceeded to the next house occupied by Patience Phiri.
They forced open the door using a big stone that they found in the schoolyard.
They assaulted her with open hands on her face and one of the accused stabbed her once inside her palm with a butcher knife demanding to know Gambiza’s whereabouts.
They took from her ZAR100 note cash, Infinix Note 2 cellphone before marching her to complainant Tamilika Ncube’s house.
They forced their way inside Ncube’s house and started assaulting her demanding to know where Gambiza had gone to.
The two teachers were later forced-marched to Gambiza’s house and a thorough search was conducted and they found her hiding under the bed. Reads the report:
They demanded cash and she gave them ZAR7010 from the school Levy which she intended to take for banking in Plumtree town the following morning.
She also gave them her cash USD13 and Huawei HUO 10 cellphone.
After committing the offence, the suspects fled from the scene. Villagers convened and conducted a search party and the suspect’s footprints led them to Moroka village in Botswana.
Investigators made a breakthrough in the case when Botswana police Detectives stationed at Masunga police station got the information that a Motswana national Matlamba Mmoloki was linked to the armed robbery cases.
Mmoloki is from Moroka village which is just opposite village 27, Dombodema area. Says the police report:
The Botswana Detectives picked and interviewed the suspect who in turn implicated Mabale Abinel Dube and indicated that he was the person who knew the other three accused persons whom he said were Zimbabwean Nationals.
Dube, the Zimbabwean national, was picked and interviewed and he implicated the three security officers. Says the report:
Mabale Abnel Dube indicated that his role was to introduce Matlamba MMoloki to the accused persons who had planned to execute coming from Botswana and used the same route back into Botswana so that it would appear as if the suspects reside in Botswana.
MMoloki ferried the three accused persons with their loot after the robbery from Moroka village to Ramokgwebana border where they used an undesignated port of entry at Nxele village into Zimbabwe.
Source Pindula News
