Bulawayo man gets 28 years in prison for robbery

A Bulawayo man,Mehluli Dube  (34) who in the company of three accomplices went on a robbery spree, was yesterday sentenced to 28 years in prison.

Dube of 4120 Cowdray Park will however serve an effective  23 years in prison after five years of the sentence were conditionally suspended by Bulawayo regional magistrate, Mrs Fadzai Mthombeni.

Dube was convicted of robbery, one of armed robbery and one of unlawful entry and theft which he committed last year with three accomplices who are still at large.

Sentencing Dube, Mrs Mthombeni said she had taken into account the fact that he had previous convictions as he is serving a 15-year jail term for two similar offences.

He was convicted of two counts of robbery last May.

Asked why he committed the offences, Dube told the court that he was forced to turn to robbery to fend for his family because of the prevailing economic hardships.
He also said he was influenced by his colleagues.
Dube pleaded with the court for leniency and asked the court to order that his sentence run concurrently with the 15 years he is already serving. He said he will not commit crime again as he wanted to start a new life with his family.

Dube and his accomplices, whose names were not given, would arm themselves with iron bars, axes, knives, sticks and wear masks during their robbery sprees committed mostly in the eastern suburbs.

They would break into complainants' houses and also assault  them.
They would smash windows panes and cut burglar bars to gain entry into their victims' houses.
They would tie the complainants using shoe laces and ropes.

After intimidating and assaulting the complainants, they would demand cash and thereafter ransack the houses.
Dube and his accomplices stole an assortment of goods with a  combined value of $36 000 and only $17 000 worth of property was recovered.
They also stole cars which they used to carry their loot before dumping them along Plumtree Road.

Mr Jabulani Mhlanga for the State said on 22 January this year Dube and the three accomplices broke into Mr Martin  Richard Hammett's home, number 13 Starling Drive in Burnside at          night.
They stole property worth $13 506 and loaded it in the complainant's car and drove off after assaulting the complainant with a wooden pick handle.
On 21 July the four accused went to Mr Fedrick Leonard Wheatly's house Number 4 Munda Drive in Burnside and cut burglar bars using a bolt cutter.

Mr Wheatly's wife was sleeping in the bedroom and they ordered   her to keep quiet and proceeded to the sitting room where Mr   Wheatly was watching television and assaulted him until he became unconscious.

They dragged him to the bedroom and tied him together with   his wife before getting off with property valued at $11 380 and his  car.
On 9 September, the quartet went to Mr Antony Wilson Elliot's house at number 40 Pinedale Road, Douglasdale and broke in using the same modus operandi.

After ransacking the house, they went to the bathroom and bathed before making off with property valued at $2 535.
On 21 September the four accused went back to the same suburb and broke into Mr Rowland Anthony Renfric's house at 1 Douglasdale Road and stole a cellphone valued at $500,                       a bottle of wine, which they drank and five pints of fresh   milk.