News / National
2 long-distance bus robbers arrested
06 Feb 2019 at 08:20hrs | Views
POLICE in Beitbridge have arrested two suspected armed robbers believed to be part of a five-man gang linked to a spate of robberies targeting long-distance and cross-border buses.
In one of the robberies last year, the suspects fatally shot a passenger, Margaret Mungani and injured two others.
On Tuesday, Beitbridge magistrate Langton Mukwengi granted police permission to further detain the two suspects, Jabson Shonhe and Augustin Sibanda, following their arrest on a Harare-bound bus.
A pistol and some rounds of live ammunition were allegedly recovered from the suspects, who are expected to appear in court today.
In their latest raid on December 17 last year, the accused boarded a Smart Express bus from Mutare to Beitbridge masquerading as ordinary passengers and later turned against the bus crew, where they fired indiscriminately inside the bus, killing Mungani and injuring two other passengers.
They robbed all passengers and the bus crew of their mobile phones and cash, before disappearing into the night. Using the same modus operandi, they struck another Beitbridge-bound bus two weeks later and got away with various amounts of cash and mobile phones.
In a related development, Beitbridge residents yesterday said they were living in fear of attacks by machete-wielding robbers, who had unleashed a reign of terror in low-density suburbs and the town centre at night.
The gang, according to residents, targeted lone pedestrians.
In one of the robberies last year, the suspects fatally shot a passenger, Margaret Mungani and injured two others.
On Tuesday, Beitbridge magistrate Langton Mukwengi granted police permission to further detain the two suspects, Jabson Shonhe and Augustin Sibanda, following their arrest on a Harare-bound bus.
A pistol and some rounds of live ammunition were allegedly recovered from the suspects, who are expected to appear in court today.
In their latest raid on December 17 last year, the accused boarded a Smart Express bus from Mutare to Beitbridge masquerading as ordinary passengers and later turned against the bus crew, where they fired indiscriminately inside the bus, killing Mungani and injuring two other passengers.
They robbed all passengers and the bus crew of their mobile phones and cash, before disappearing into the night. Using the same modus operandi, they struck another Beitbridge-bound bus two weeks later and got away with various amounts of cash and mobile phones.
In a related development, Beitbridge residents yesterday said they were living in fear of attacks by machete-wielding robbers, who had unleashed a reign of terror in low-density suburbs and the town centre at night.
The gang, according to residents, targeted lone pedestrians.
Source - newsday
