Two Gwanda Armed Robbers Jailed for Eight Years Over Gunpoint Heist
Two Gwanda armed robbers, Patricia Sibanda and Thabani Makhosi Ndebele, were sentenced to eight years in prison by the Bulawayo Regional Court after CID detectives traced key evidence from an abandoned Mazda Premacy.
Dumisani Ndlovu 
Gwanda— Two 20-year-old robbers who held up a local businessman at gunpoint, stole US$700, and hijacked his vehicle have each been sentenced to eight years in prison by the Bulawayo Regional Court.
Patricia Sibanda and Thabani Makhosi Ndebele were convicted of armed robbery and sentenced on August 21 by Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Mark Nzira.
The court established that on April 29, the pair confronted the complainant, assaulted him, and held him at gunpoint. They stole US$700 in cash before fleeing in his Mazda Premacy. The injured victim was assisted to a hospital for treatment while the assailants later abandoned the vehicle.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Gwanda traced the suspects after discovering they had visited the victim’s tuckshop a day prior to the heist to purchase face masks.
Crucial evidence was recovered when forensic officers searched the abandoned Mazda Premacy, retrieving a jean jacket and a track jacket left behind by the suspects. The physical evidence enabled detectives to identify and arrest the pair.
Magistrate Nzira cited the violent nature of the attack and the use of a firearm in delivering the eight-year custodial sentences.
