The Sunday News
Tendai Bhebe, Sunday News Reporter
TWO Bulawayo armed robbers who were involved in a spate of robberies and carjacking cases where property valued at $10 698 was stolen were on Wednesday slapped with a six-year jail sentence each.
The two, Shane Sibanda of Old Luveve (20) and Blessing Sibanda (29) of Old Pumula who pleaded guilty to three accounts of robbery appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mrs Sibonginkosi Mkandla charged with the crime of robbery and carjacking as defined in section 126 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23.
Mrs Mkandla convicted them on three counts and sentenced them to six years in prison but two years were suspended on condition that they do not commit the similar offence within a period of five years.
The State’s case as presented by the prosecutor, Mrs Conciliar Ncube was that on 13 July at around 10pm the duo while in the company of Sipho Magutshwa who is still at large, approached Charles Mlotshwa who was parked in a Nissan Note along 6th Avenue between Herbert Chitepo and Lobengula streets in Bulawayo and asked him to take them to Luveve.
The accused persons and their accomplice offered to pay Mlotshwa $5 when they got to Luveve and the he agreed.
“The accused persons directed the complaint and upon arrival at Chigumira Shopping Centre in Luveve, they produced a knife and ordered Mlotshwa to stop the vehicle and switch off the engine,” Ncube said.
Mlotshwa complied, and the duo of Shane and Blessing tied his hands using electrical cables and took from him cash amounting to $7 and a Vodafone Android smartphone valued at $50.
The court heard that the two assumed control of the motor vehicle and drove towards Cowdray Park. It was the State’s case that while they were at the rail crossing near cricket club in Emakhandeni, the duo and their accomplice ordered Mlotshwa out of the motor vehicle and drove off towards Cowdray Park.
The prosecutor further told the court that on 27 July 2018 at around 9pm the two accused persons and Magutshwa carjacked and robbed Mr Patrice Chigoya of property worth $3 180.
They then robbed Mr Mandlenkosi Sitsha (23) at around 3am and took away his car.
Shane was later arrested after he robbed a woman in Pumula using the stolen vehicle while Blessing was arrested after an Itel cellphone which he had stolen was traced to him.
Some of the property was recovered as the accused persons voluntarily made indications to where the property was, leading to the recovery of $10 468 worth of the stolen items.
