25 kids ‘kidnapped’ from Harare primary school rescued in Macheke

A 60-year-old man has been arrested on charges of allegedly kidnapping 25 school children he was supposed to deliver to their homes in Harare but were found stranded and crying in his stationary kombi 103km away in Macheke.

A passing motorist tipped off police to the bizarre situation of children crying in a stationary Nissan Caravan that had run out of fuel on the Harare-Mutare Road on Thursday.

“The arrest follows a tip-off received by ZRP Macheke from a passer-by that there was a Nissan Caravan kombi registration number, AFN 0198, with children on board parked by the road side.

“The informant suspected foul play as some of the children were crying,”read a statement from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).

The driver, Samuel Honde, was found by responding police officers with 14 girls and 11 boys, aged between 4 and 8 – all learners at David Livingstone Primary School in the capital.

The children are said to have been picked up from the school at 1PM.

A police report of the incident said; “Honde was contracted by parents to ferry learners to and from David Livingstone Primary School from their respective residencies around Harare since 2016.”

“Police interrogated the driver on where he was heading and he stated that he was going to Kuwadzana Extension in Harare. He was arrested for kidnapping and escorted to Macheke Police Station.

“Next of kins of the children were advised and the pupils were ferried to Marondera Provincial Hospital for medical examination.”

Honde, who lives at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Kuwadzana Extension, is expected to appear in court soon.