Serial robbers jailed for 53 years

Six serial robbers who pounced on a Mozambican family and stole property worth more than R2 million have been slapped with a combined jail term of 53 years by the High Court.

John Hofisi (33), Golden Makuyana (44), Pancrease Ukasha (34) all from Chipinge, Mike Chaire (39 and Daniel Chikara (39) from Chimanimani and Tawanda Chitambo (27) from Buhera were jailed when they appeared before Mutare High Court judge Justice Hlekani Mwayera charged with robbery, unlawful entry and theft.

The six were jailed after robbing Loice Sithole of Chizango Village under Chief Mafuse in Mozambique.

They made away with R1 million in cash and property worth R1 040 000 including a Mazda BT50.

Justice Mwayera sentenced Hofisi to 15 years in jail with five years of the term running concurrently with other five years from a previous conviction.

Another six months which were suspended in a previous conviction were also brought into effect.

Hofisi was serving a jail term after being convicted on another criminal case under case number CHP431 /16.

He will now serve 10 years and six months behind bars.

Makuyana was sentenced to 15 years in jail with five years of his term running concurrently with his previous conviction on criminal charges under case number CHP408 /16.

Four months which were suspended upon his previous conviction were also brought into effect, meaning he will spend 10 years and four months in jail.

Ukasha was sentenced to 10 years before five years of his jail term were suspended for five years on condition that he does not commit a similar offence within that period.

Justice Mwayera sentenced Chaire to 15 years and ordered that five years of his term run concurrently with a sentence from a previous conviction under CRB MUTRE 5/18.

Three years which were suspended on his previous conviction were brought into effect, leaving him with a total of 13 years behind bars.

Chikara was jailed for 15 years and was ordered to serve five years concurrently with another five years he was jailed for an offence he committed with Hofisi.

Two months which were set aside on the same offence were brought into effect.

Chitambo was initially slapped with 10 years’ imprisonment before the court set aside five years of his term for five years.

State counsel Mr Jonathan Chingwinyiso had it that on August 23, 2017, the six ganged up and hatched a plan to rob Mrs Sithole at her homestead.

The robbers entered the Sithole house while she was seated with her family and assaulted her with open hands threatening to kill her if she resisted.

They tied Mrs Sithole and her family members while Hofisi, who was armed with a knife, demanded money from them.

Hofisi dragged Mrs Sithole to her bedroom where she kept money and stole R1 million.

As if that was not enough, they ransacked the house stole property worth R1 040 000 including a Mazda BT50 car, blankets and clothes.

After the robbery, they left the stolen property at Virginia Dube’s place with the intention of bringing it to Zimbabwe.

On November 26, 2017 detectives received information to the effect that Hofisi and his gang had left stolen property at Virginia Dube’s homestead.

Investigations led to the recovery of property worth R735 000.

Meanwhile, a Marange man and his teenage stepdaughter have been ordered to each perform 210 hours of unpaid work by a Mutare magistrate after they were found guilty of having an incestuous relationship that ended in the birth of a child.

Zekias Mukurachaza (32) and Macloline Garira (18) were initially sentenced to eight months in jail, before two months were set aside on condition that they do not commit a similar offence in near future.

Mutare magistrate Ms Perseverance Makhala suspended the remaining six months on condition that the pair performs 210 hours of community service at Maponde Primary School.

The two were punished by the court after Mukurachaza’s wife, Memory Biningu, reported her husband’s incestuous relationship with her daughter.

Mukurachaza and Garira were convicted for having sexual intercourse within a prohibited degree of relationship.

Circumstances leading to the two’s arrest were that sometime in 2017, Biningu left the two at their homestead in Maponde Village under Chief Marange to attend a church conference.

Mukurachaza, who appears to have been already in a love relationship with his stepdaughter, took advantage of his wife’s absence to have sexual intercourse with the teenage girl.

Upon returning home, Biningu heard through the grapevine that her husband was having an intimate relationship with his stepdaughter. The Herald