In what is believed to be the result of an avenging spirit, the last four members of a notorious armed robbery gang, responsible for heinous crimes, are now suffering from the same mental illness.
Recently, two members of the gang were committed to a psychiatric unit for mental evaluation by High Court judge, Justice Munamato Mutevedzi.
Day Kaseke and Misheck Neshamba were part of a gang of six who disguised themselves as commuters and subsequently robbed and killed Kelvin Karasa, a High Court Sheriff.
They also used the same trick to rob and murder another victim, Brian Kadenge, a motorist who offered them a ride from Norton to Harare.
Neshamba and Kaseke now suffer from mental illness, and this condition has also affected their fellow gang members, Francis Alimoso and Kingswell Ngwerume, who are already psychiatric patients at Chikurubi Maximum Prison.
The other two suspects, John Robin and Gift Jongwe, both passed away under mysterious circumstances in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
In a recent ruling, Justice Munamato Mutevedzi ordered the withdrawal of charges against Kaseke and Neshamba due to their deteriorating mental condition. This decision was based on an application by the National Prosecution Authority.
The gang’s criminal activities date back to September 2019 when Kaseke, Neshamba, Alimoso, Ngwerume, Robin, and Jongwe posed as commuters seeking transport at Muza shopping centre. They were offered a ride by Karasa, who was driving a government vehicle to Ruwa.
Upon reaching Mara Farm in Epworth, one of the suspects assaulted Karasa and tied him up. They robbed him of $82, court documents, and a cellphone, even demanding his EcoCash pin. Alimoso then dragged Karasa for about 50 meters into a bushy area, where he was blindfolded and brutally struck on the head, leaving him tied to a tree.
The government vehicle was found abandoned in the central business district the following day. The gang continued their criminal activities by targeting Brian Kadenge, whom they attacked at the Lake Chivero turn-off, robbing him of his mobile phone and cash before stoning him to death and discarding his body in a bushy area.
Furthermore, the gang used Kadenge’s car as a taxi, luring passengers in the CBD and subsequently robbing them of their mobile phones and cash. The stolen car was later discovered abandoned at Mbizi Game Park.
Source iHarare
