Three Bindura men will spend the next 38 years in jail after they were convicted over ten counts of armed robbery.
The three are Ladma Mutesa (39), Tapiwa Nyakudya (31) and Sande Saini (32).
Prosecutors proved that the trio robbed several complainants working in connivance with Mike Mapona also known as Murefu, Shoti and Fungai who are still at large.
The court heard they pounced on the complainants’ houses in Nyakudya Mazarura Village under Chief Masembura in Bindura on the 21st of April 2024.
They used iron bars to forcibly open the back door to gain entry into the main house where six complainants were sleeping.
“Armed with iron bars and wooden logs, the accused persons and their accomplices manhandled the complainants and tied their hands with brick force wire.
“They ordered the complainants to surrender their cellphones before they ransacked the house and took an assortment of groceries, household goods and US$350 cash,” it was proved.
The court also heard that the following night the gang robbed another home in the same village.
They knocked on the door and introduced themselves as police officers.
After the complainants had opened the door, they manhandled and force-marched them to the main house where they forcibly took their cellphones.
“One of the complainants who was not home when the gang arrived, got home driving a Toyota Quantum.
“The accused persons ambushed him and assaulted him using clenched fists.
“They dragged him to a pigsty where they tied his hands and legs to a pole.”
The gang took his cellphone, before they drove off in his motor vehicle.
However, the motor vehicle developed a mechanical fault and they dumped it 2km away from the house where it was recovered.
The first accused person was arrested on the 23rd of April 2024 following a tip-off.
He led to the arrest of the second and third accused persons.
The total value of the stolen property was US$15,450 and property valued at US$13,450 was recovered.
