7-man gang in $9,000 shop heist

A GANG of seven men, one clad in police anti-riot gear and armed with a rifle, axes and knives, struck at Badala Business Centre in Inyathi where they got away with cash and property worth more than $9,000 from a shop and a house belonging to a prominent businessman in the area.

The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday morning when the suspects, who are still at large, raided Inyathi businessman Harry Tshuma and attacked him and five members of his staff before ransacking his house and shop.

Tshuma, 60, yesterday told The Chronicle he is lucky to have lived to tell the tale as one of his attackers tried to drive a knife into his heart but struck a metal National Identity card which was in his pocket.

The robbers got away with property worth $8, 600 and about $1,100 in cash.

Tshuma told The Chronicle the robbers took his cream Toyota Hilux and it was later found abandoned at Insuza on Sunday afternoon.

The businessman owns a bar, restaurant and butchery.

Tshuma said the seven thugs attacked him at the doorstep of his house just after midnight on his return from delivering some of his workers to their homes.

"Three men claiming to be police officers pounced on me. Two of them grabbed me. As I tried to resist they both tried to stab me," he said.

"One aimed a knife at my chest and luckily enough my metal identity card which was in my shirt pocket saved me. The other one's knife ripped through the tracksuit jacket and the shirt that I was wearing, narrowly missing me."

Tshuma said he stopped resisting but the two men started punching and assaulting him with a pick handle.

He said five more members of the gang emerged from the darkness and demanded cash.

"They frisked me and took my car keys and all the shop keys," Tshuma said.

The businessman said the robbers hog-tied him with shoe laces and continued beating him.

"I lied and said that I only had $500 in the shop, which is 18 kilometres from home. One of them pressed a knife on my neck and suggested that they should kill me," Tshuma said.

"They had broken down all my doors. A pair went into my bedroom and looted my clothes, blankets, shop stock like shovels, picks, some bottles of alcohol and some things I'm still discovering to be missing."

He said five of his workers at the house had been beaten and tied up by the gang.

Tshuma said his attackers grabbed him and shoved him into his car which they used to drive back to the shop.

"They beat me up even harder, demanding to know where I kept money at the shop. They set upon a security guard with axes. He tried to jump over a precast wall but was stopped by the razor wire," he said.

Tshuma said the security guard eventually scrambled over the wire when the attackers made a beeline for him.

He said the robbers also beat up a security guard from a neighbouring shop, tied him up and left him covered with a blanket.

"They demanded I open the safe in the shop at knife and gun point and took all the money," said the businessman.

He said the robbers drove off in his vehicle.

"They had untied my feet so I walked out of the shop to inspect the bloody body under the blanket. It was the security guard and he was badly injured. I untied him," said Tshuma.

He said they notified the police and rushed the injured people to Inyathi District Hospital.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Gloria Moyo, the security guard, narrated his ordeal at the hands of the robbers.

"When I attempted to scream for help they ordered me to stop, threatening to kill Tshuma," he said.

"I've been a security guard for more than 20 years but I've never been in such a scary situation. When I think of those men, I tremble with fear. What is our world coming to? Anyway I'm glad no one died at the hands of those greedy monsters."

Matabeleland North acting police spokesperson Sergeant Eglon Nkala yesterday said he was not aware of the incident.