News / Regional
Taxi driver loses cop's vehicle at gunpoint
01 Jun 2014 at 19:20hrs | Views
A ZVISHAVANE cab driver and his friend escaped death by a whisker after armed robbers hijacked a vehicle owned by a local police officer he was driving at gunpoint.
The mishap took place last Wednesday at around 2am at Advalorem low-density suburb in the small mining town.
The cab driver Joseph Chigo of Mandava high-density suburb, was pirating using an unregistered Toyota Fan Cargo vehicle allegedly belonging to a Zvishavane cop.
Chigo told Southern Eye that the incident occurred when he was hired by two unidentified men to ferry them to Advalorem from a sports bar in town.
Chigo said the two men requested him to first drive them to Mandava where they wanted to pick a parcel first before going to their intended destination.
"The two guys hired me to Advalorem, but they first asked me to take them to Mandava. They asked me to park at the rank on arrival and one of them disappeared into the dark before returning with a small black bag in a few minutes," Chigo said.
He said he got suspicious and thought it wise to pick up his friend Siphelani Shumba to accompany him just in case things got out of control.
When they got to the Advalorem boom gate, Chigo demanded his dues, but to his horror, one of the men pointed a pistol at him while the other pulled out a knife and threatened Shumba.
Shumba chipped in saying the men told Chigo to do as they commanded if they did not want to lose their lives.
"They commanded Chigo to drive along the Mataga Road and when we got to a bushy area, they assaulted Chigo and then pushed him out of the car," said Shumba.
"One of the guys then took over the steering wheel and then they pushed me out of the moving vehicle resulting in me sustaining a broken left arm," Shumba said.
The two disappeared with the car towards Mataga and Chigo and Shumba walked back to town and made a report to the police.
The Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko confirmed the hijacking and assault, but said information was still hazy.
"We received a report from Zvishavane and police are currently conducting investigations," Goko said.
The car was last seen at Chivi shopping centre in Masvingo province.
No arrests have been made as yet.
The mishap took place last Wednesday at around 2am at Advalorem low-density suburb in the small mining town.
The cab driver Joseph Chigo of Mandava high-density suburb, was pirating using an unregistered Toyota Fan Cargo vehicle allegedly belonging to a Zvishavane cop.
Chigo told Southern Eye that the incident occurred when he was hired by two unidentified men to ferry them to Advalorem from a sports bar in town.
Chigo said the two men requested him to first drive them to Mandava where they wanted to pick a parcel first before going to their intended destination.
"The two guys hired me to Advalorem, but they first asked me to take them to Mandava. They asked me to park at the rank on arrival and one of them disappeared into the dark before returning with a small black bag in a few minutes," Chigo said.
He said he got suspicious and thought it wise to pick up his friend Siphelani Shumba to accompany him just in case things got out of control.
When they got to the Advalorem boom gate, Chigo demanded his dues, but to his horror, one of the men pointed a pistol at him while the other pulled out a knife and threatened Shumba.
Shumba chipped in saying the men told Chigo to do as they commanded if they did not want to lose their lives.
"They commanded Chigo to drive along the Mataga Road and when we got to a bushy area, they assaulted Chigo and then pushed him out of the car," said Shumba.
"One of the guys then took over the steering wheel and then they pushed me out of the moving vehicle resulting in me sustaining a broken left arm," Shumba said.
The two disappeared with the car towards Mataga and Chigo and Shumba walked back to town and made a report to the police.
The Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko confirmed the hijacking and assault, but said information was still hazy.
"We received a report from Zvishavane and police are currently conducting investigations," Goko said.
The car was last seen at Chivi shopping centre in Masvingo province.
No arrests have been made as yet.
Source - Southern Eye
