Veteran journalist Xolisani Ncube has been arrested alongside habitual armed robber, Clever Mununudzi Nengomasha after police recovered several guns at his Waterfalls house that are suspected to have been used by Nengomasha in a series of robberies.
Nengomasha was shot and seriously injured following a shootout with the police in Harare.
Investigations revealed that Nengomasha, alias Paul Simon Chitakura is related to scribe Ncube (35) of Newz Room Afrika.
The two have since been arrested and are still in custody as investigations on the case continue.
Ncube appeared before Harare magistrate Yeukai Dzuda yesterday charged with armed robbery and possession of firearms.
Nengomasha, who has various armed robbery cases dating back to early 2000, is currently under police guard at a hospital after he was shot and seriously injured during the shootout in Waterfalls.
Following his arrest, police, who were acting on tip off about Nengomasha’s whereabouts, then recovered two 22 Bruno rifles, a .357 Magnum revolver, a .38 Special Taurus Revolver, a 7.65mm Vzor pistol and 10 x 3,57mm rounds of ammunition, five x 9 x 19mm rounds of ammunition and six x 7,65mm rounds of ammunition hidden at Ncube’s house.
Ncube was arrested on Thursday after he failed to produce firearm certificates for the recovered firearms. Some of them guns had serial numbers erased.
Police said some of the guns were stolen during an armed robbery in the city in which a man lost various firearms and cash to criminals who had raided his house last year.
Two of the suspects were later arrested and then implicated Nengomasha.
Acting on the tip-off, police then raided Ncube’s house.
Nengomasha has been on the police wanted list on several occasions and had been known mostly for hiding in South Africa.
In 2013, Nengomasha and his accomplices Peace Mutema alias Batista and another one only identified as Mudzingwa, were once wanted for a spate of armed robberies in Harare and Bulawayo.
By then, the trio’s first contact with police was on Boxing Day in 2012 when Mutema, Nengomasha and Mudzingwa were involved in a shoot-out with the police after they were confronted near Karigamombe Centre in Harare’s central business district.
The trio was travelling in a Mazda Familia and detectives received information that they had parked their vehicle near the premises.
It is alleged that they fired shots towards the detectives resulting in a high-speed chase but they managed to escape.
The trio once pounced on a shop in Bulawayo and stole US$450 in cash and airtime recharge cards worth US$191 000.
Mutema and Nengomasha also pounced on Pacific Holdings in Bulawayo and got away with US$10 000 cash, 65 000 Rands, a Toyota Camry, a pistol and three cell phones.
They later dumped the car in Harare’s Greendale suburb.
On Christmas Eve 2012, Mutema, Nengomasha and Mudzingwa, pounced on Total Service Station in Harare and got away with US$1 400 cash. They were travelling in a silver Mazda Familia.
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