Family in robbery, car hijack ordeal

A BULAWAYO man cheated death when a gang of armed robbers blocked his vehicle, opened fire, hit the heel of his shoe, forced him and his relatives out and made off with his car.

Maxwell Gondo, told The Chronicle how he came close to death on Saturday evening when the bullet sliced one of his shoes after he tried to resist the armed robbers' demands.

The incident occurred along Intemba Road at about 8: 30PM while Gondo was on his way to Magwegwe North in the company of his brother and two other relatives.

A report was made at Magwegwe Police Station, but Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo could not immediately comment on the incident yesterday.

Gondo said he suspected that the armed robbers had earlier in the day visited his workplace in the city centre and later pounced on him believing he had huge sums of money in his Toyota Corolla.

"Earlier on I saw two men at my workplace and they looked suspicious. One of them pretended to be seeking EcoCash services while the other was milling around the office and looking around the whole place. I tried to follow them to see what they were up to and they went away," said Gondo.

"I knocked off later on and a relative of mine, Polite Mkalalwa asked if I could take her home because there was congestion in town due to the trade fair. I agreed and I picked her up and her daughter in the city centre just before 8PM."

He said the three went to his house in Mpopoma, where they picked up Gondo's brother before proceeding to Magwegwe North.

"After we picked up my brother, we proceeded to Magwegwe North, to drop off Mkalalwa and her daughter. When we approached the round- about along Intemba Road, I noticed a speeding car approaching from behind," he said.

"The car was too close and I decided to pull off the road. Instead of proceeding, the driver blocked my car. We noticed there were a number of men in the car. Before we knew what was happening, one of the men jumped out of the car and shouted "phuma, out!"

Gondo said the man repeatedly told them to get out of the car but he refused, telling him it was his car.

"The man produced a gun and pointed it at my feet, ordering me to get out of the car. He fired a shot, which damaged my shoe before dragging me out of the car. Mkalalwa and her daughter were already out of the car and were hiding by the roadside. My brother was also dragged out of the car and they drove off in the two cars," said Gondo.

He said he had also lost his cell phone, a Huawei 300, which was inside the car.

"I suspect that the two men who came to the shop are part of the gang of armed robbers. I don't know the people but I think they saw me locking the premises at my workplace and they thought I had money," he said.

A visibly shaken Mkalalwa, a newspaper and airtime vendor in the city centre, said they had to call her husband to come and take them to Magwegwe Police Station.

"I was scrolling through my phone when Gondo pulled off the road to make way for a car that was fast approaching from behind. Before I knew what was going on I heard a man shouting, ordering us to get out of the car," said Mkalalwa.

"He approached our car and aggressively opened the driver's door and shouted again. My daughter and I jumped out of the car and hid under a nearby bridge. We heard a gunshot and I was frozen with fear. After a few moments we saw the two cars driving off at high speed."

She said they rushed to check if the two were hurt and they realised that Gondo's shoe had been damaged by the bullet.

"I called my husband who came to take us to Magwegwe Police Station, where we made a report. The police have started investigating. No arrests have been made so far and the car hasn't been found," she said.