Pair loses US$17k in Bulawayo City centre daylight robbery

By Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu

Two Bulawayo men lost US$17 000 and R40 000 to three gun brandishing robbers who attacked them while they were counting the money in their vehicle which was parked in the city centre.

Police national spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident which occurred last Friday at around 3PM along Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street between 11th and 12th Avenue.

“I can confirm that we recorded an armed robbery case which occurred in the Bulawayo CBD on Friday afternoon when two men lost US$17 000 and R40 000. The complainants were counting money while in a Nissan Tilda vehicle which was parked along Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street between 11th and 12th Avenue when they were approached by three unknown suspects who were armed with pistols,” he said.

Ass Comm Nyathi said the robbers then demanded cash from the complainants while threatening to shoot them.

“The complainants surrendered the cash to the suspects who then fled in a Honda Fit vehicle registration number AE1 2641,” he said.

Asst Comm Nyathi said investigations were underway and appealed to members of the public with information which could lead to the arrest of the suspects to contact any nearest police station.

He warned members of the public against carrying around large sums of money and engaging in illegal cash transactions.

“This case could be one of those scenarios where people were engaged in illegal deals inside the vehicle and ended up attracting criminals.

People are urged to desist from engaging in criminal activities such as illegal borrowing of money or performing unlawful transactions as they become targets of robbers. We have a lot of illegal transactions taking place and unlawful handling of money. People should be careful and abide by the law,” he said.

Bulawayo has witnessed a spate of armed robberies and some have ended in tragedy. Recently, robbers shot dead a female cashier at a bottle store at Ascot Shopping Centre. She was shot twice in the head.

In another case robbers intercepted a cash-in-transit van at a Choppies Supermarket in Parklands suburb and got away with boxes full of cash.

In March, a gang armed with a pistol struck at a Trek fuel station in Gwabalanda suburb and got away with US$15 300 and R800.

Three days later, three men armed with a pistol held up petrol attendants at Amakhosi Service Station along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road. They tied up a security guard and two petrol attendants. The robbers spent three hours fuelling cars of unsuspecting motorists and bagging the cash. The Chronicle