News / Regional
Woman held hostage, loses car
19 Apr 2016 at 06:43hrs | Views
TWO robbers held a Paddonhurst suburb woman hostage after raiding her house before stealing household goods worth about $17,000 including her vehicle, which they used to carry the loot and later crashed.
They stole jewellery, cellphones, laptops, a television set, a freezer, cameras, clothes, groceries and the car. Among the loot was $4,800 and 50 pounds in cash that they took from a safe.
Abednigo Sigabela, 27, of Njube who executed the heist jointly with still-at-large Mduduzi Dube was convicted of unlawful entry and robbery by regional magistrate Mark Dzira.
The magistrate sentenced Sigabela to nine years in jail of which two years were suspended for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar crime. Expressing concern over the increase in robbery cases Dzira said:
"There's no doubt that the complainant was traumatised when she lost her property. Cases of robbery are on the rise in the country, especially in Bulawayo. You should learn to live within your means rather than robbing other people. Sending you to jail will also be a lesson for like-minded people."
Prosecuting, Tinashe Dzipe, said on November 2 last year at about 10PM, Ludick Colleen retired to bed after securing her windows and gates. She however, left the front door half open so that her dog could access the house during the night.
The court heard that the following day shortly after 1AM, Sigabela and Dube went to Colleen's house where they scaled a precast wall and got into the yard. They stormed into the house through the front door and headed to the bedroom. They destroyed the door locking system using a screwdriver and gained entry.
"When they got inside the bedroom, they came face to face with Colleen who had just finished taking an early morning bath and was about to return to bed. Sigabela who was carrying a screwdriver ordered the complainant to remain quiet and threatened to rape her if she screamed," said Dzipe.
The two men demanded money from Colleen before Sigabela ransacked the house while Dube held her hostage. They destroyed a safe and took a bag containing jewellery, which included a wedding ring, a gold necklace, $4,800 and 50 pounds. The robbers took car keys which were on a table in the sitting room, unlocked the vehicle, a Mazda 323, and loaded the goods into the car.
"They destroyed the gate locking system and drove out of the yard," said Dzipe. They later crashed the car a few metres away from the house and dumped it at the scene with some of the stolen goods inside.
On November 17, 2015, detectives acting on a tip-off arrested Sigabela leading to the recovery of some of the stolen goods. A cellphone, a rechargeable torch and $500 were recovered from his father. Property worth $9,827 is still missing.
They stole jewellery, cellphones, laptops, a television set, a freezer, cameras, clothes, groceries and the car. Among the loot was $4,800 and 50 pounds in cash that they took from a safe.
Abednigo Sigabela, 27, of Njube who executed the heist jointly with still-at-large Mduduzi Dube was convicted of unlawful entry and robbery by regional magistrate Mark Dzira.
The magistrate sentenced Sigabela to nine years in jail of which two years were suspended for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar crime. Expressing concern over the increase in robbery cases Dzira said:
"There's no doubt that the complainant was traumatised when she lost her property. Cases of robbery are on the rise in the country, especially in Bulawayo. You should learn to live within your means rather than robbing other people. Sending you to jail will also be a lesson for like-minded people."
The court heard that the following day shortly after 1AM, Sigabela and Dube went to Colleen's house where they scaled a precast wall and got into the yard. They stormed into the house through the front door and headed to the bedroom. They destroyed the door locking system using a screwdriver and gained entry.
"When they got inside the bedroom, they came face to face with Colleen who had just finished taking an early morning bath and was about to return to bed. Sigabela who was carrying a screwdriver ordered the complainant to remain quiet and threatened to rape her if she screamed," said Dzipe.
The two men demanded money from Colleen before Sigabela ransacked the house while Dube held her hostage. They destroyed a safe and took a bag containing jewellery, which included a wedding ring, a gold necklace, $4,800 and 50 pounds. The robbers took car keys which were on a table in the sitting room, unlocked the vehicle, a Mazda 323, and loaded the goods into the car.
"They destroyed the gate locking system and drove out of the yard," said Dzipe. They later crashed the car a few metres away from the house and dumped it at the scene with some of the stolen goods inside.
On November 17, 2015, detectives acting on a tip-off arrested Sigabela leading to the recovery of some of the stolen goods. A cellphone, a rechargeable torch and $500 were recovered from his father. Property worth $9,827 is still missing.
Source - chronicle
