Sisters of infamous 'terror twins' in court

Three women, including two sisters of the notorious Vumbunu brothers linked to the US$4 million Ecobank heist, appeared in court on Tuesday facing armed robbery charges involving US$25,840.

Sekai Vumbunu, Georgina Vumbunu and Florence Chisiri appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mark Dzira for routine remand. The trio, who are representing themselves, were remanded in custody to November 14 after the State indicated that the case was not yet ready for trial.

Prosecutor Siphiwe Mhlanga told the court that the three women are accused of aiding an armed robbery committed by suspected accomplices, Nekimiya Dladla (38) and Simon Dube (28), as part of a wider criminal network operating in Bulawayo.

According to the State, on October 12, 2025, the accused allegedly supplied critical information to Dladla and Dube, who later ambushed a woman (name withheld) as she was returning to Mossel House - a flat located at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Herbert Chitepo Street.

Armed with guns, the suspects reportedly threatened to shoot the woman before robbing her of US$1,630. They then ransacked her bedroom, discovering and taking a further US$23,160 in cash and two wedding rings valued at US$1,050.

Investigations later linked Dladla and Dube to several other armed robberies in the city, including a daring attack on Nkolozi Investments - a bureau de change housed in the CIPF Building - where robbers posing as clients made off with US$18,000 and R151,000.

The duo is also accused of robbing a restaurant patron of US$4,000 and R60,000 in an incident that occurred at the corner of Fife Street and 12th Avenue on August 10, 2025.

Following a meticulous investigation by detectives from the Homicide Section, Dladla was arrested and subsequently implicated Dube and the Vumbunu sisters, leading to their apprehension.

The arrests have reignited public interest in the notorious Vumbunu family, long associated with organised crime in Bulawayo and beyond. The family's infamy peaked following the arrest of brothers Elijah and Abraham Vumbunu - dubbed the "terror twins" - for their alleged role in the US$4 million Ecobank heist in October 2024.

The brothers, raised in a polygamous household in Mzilikazi suburb, have been linked to numerous high-profile crimes over the years, including the How Mine gold robbery, the Mukuru money heist, and several violent home invasions.

Abraham, who had recently completed a 14-year prison term, allegedly teamed up with Elijah soon after his release to orchestrate the Ecobank heist - described by investigators as a "movie-style" operation in which armed men overpowered Safeguard security guards transporting cash before escaping with trunks of money along 9th Avenue.

The brothers were later arrested in South Africa in a joint operation between the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and the South African Police Service (SAPS). They are currently awaiting extradition to Zimbabwe.