Jackets betray SA nationals in US$4 000 armed robbery

Two armed South African nationals accused of robbing a Bulawayo fuel service station of more than US$4 000 at gunpoint were allegedly betrayed by the jackets they wore during the crime, a court has heard.

This emerged during the ongoing trial of Nonjabulo Wisdom Nyoni (30) and Chrisvision Ncube, both from Johannesburg, who are appearing before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Lungile Ncube facing a charge of armed robbery.

Taking the stand first, Nyoni denied any involvement in the robbery and distanced himself from his co-accused.

"I do not know this man and only came to know him after my arrest, when I was told his name is Chrisvision. I did not act in concert with him," Nyoni told the court.

He claimed that on the day of his arrest he was in Pumula South suburb and said the jacket recovered by police did not belong to him.

Ncube also denied the charge, telling the court that he was arrested while disembarking from a commuter omnibus on his way to visit his girlfriend in Pumula South.

"A vehicle belonging to detectives blocked the kombi I had boarded and thereafter I was arrested. I do not know the jacket that was recovered at the scene," Ncube said.

However, State witness Bruce Nyoni testified that he saw the two accused hurriedly boarding a commuter omnibus shortly after the robbery, each clutching jackets.

"When detectives ordered them to get out of the vehicle, I observed them shoving the jackets under the seat," he told the court.

Further implicating the accused, Redan Fuel Service Station representative Mr Casper Musesengwa said employees were able to positively identify the suspects through their clothing.

"On the day of the robbery, we clearly noted the jackets and clothes they were wearing. During the identification parade, we identified them by the jackets and a T-shirt," Musesengwa said.

Prosecutor Sehliselo Khumalo told the court that on October 4 last year, Nyoni, Ncube and an accomplice identified only as Mduduzi, who is still at large, raided Redan Fuel Service Station at the corner of Plumtree Road and Gladstone Road in Bellevue, Bulawayo.

"The accused arrived in a Honda Fit. Upon arrival, they disembarked and confronted the fuel station supervisor. One of them grabbed him by the neck while pointing a firearm at his head and demanded money," Khumalo said.

The court heard that the frightened supervisor complied by throwing a satchel containing cash onto the ground. The assailants allegedly ordered him to lie down before fleeing with US$4 405 and R1 350, while threatening to shoot him.

The suspects are said to have escaped along Plumtree Road towards the city centre in their getaway vehicle.

The matter was reported to the police, and detectives from the Homicide Section launched investigations that led to the arrest of Nyoni and Ncube. During the operation, police recovered a pistol, US$1 322 and R770.

The matter was postponed to January 22 for judgment.