Highway robber jailed, driver acquitted

By Blessing Masakadza

A Harare man has been slapped with a five year imprisonment term for attempting to rob a Kuwadzana woman in a pirate taxi along Bulawayo Road. 

Jonah Hwindingwe will however serve an effective four years after the magistrate suspended one year on condition of good behaviour.

Three of his alleged accomplices, Edwin Chimhanzi, Tichaona Kazenge and Tyron Guyo were acquitted. The four were driving in a green Toyota Ipsum registration number ACN 4392 when they offered the woman a lift.

The four appeared before Harare magistrate Tendai Mahwe facing allegations of attempted robbery. It was proved that Hwindingwe inserted his hand in the woman’s handbag and when she resisted, he pulled her shoulder towards him.

The court heard that she screamed and she opened the door trying to jump off a moving vehicle, forcing the driver to pull off the road. The court heard that the vehicle stopped and Hwindingwe took to his heels. He was reportedly chased and apprehended by members of the public.

Chimhanzi revealed that on the day in question he was driving together with his brothers’ in law, Kazenge and Guyo and offered Hwindingwe and the woman transport. He said after a distance, he heard the woman screaming and opening the door attempting to jump.

He said when he stopped the vehicle, Hwindingwe took to his heels. He added that he is the one who chased Hwindingwe when he escaped and that he was just a victim of circumstances. He said he is a genuine transporter, plying the Avondale route and nowhere near the robbery business.