Established 1930 Hats off to ZRP, courts for swift action on armed robbers

THE City of Bulawayo has been awash with cases of armed robbery. Businesses and private homes were not spared by daring robbers who appeared to go about their uncouth mission unabated.

In a space of one week, two supermarkets had been robbed, leaving shoppers traumatised and scurrying for cover after some gun shots were fired in Pumula South and Northend. However, the long arm of the law, as the cliché goes, soon caught up with the culprits while enjoying the fruits of their crime at a local sports club. They were taken to court where the courts dealt with them swiftly, sentencing the quartet to a combined 120 years.

We wish to applaud the police for a job well done, and the courts for making sure that those accused are quickly sent to jail—and for a long time—to send a clear message to would-be offenders that crime does not pay.

Those jailed were four South Africa-based locals involved in an organised syndicate of armed robbers who raided shops in Bulawayo and terrorised residents, seizing about $7 200 in cash and 18 grammes of gold. They were jailed for a combined 120 years.

They teamed up with suspects who are still at large and raided TM Pick n Pay Supermarket in Northend, Morningside Supermarket and Choppies Supermarket in Pumula South suburb where they got away with varying amounts of money, groceries and an assortment of whiskey brands between March 4 and March 16 this year.

Mqondisi Moyo (34), Ndabezinhle Ndlovu (24), Zenzo Sibanda (34) and Nkosiwonke Ncube (28) all based in South Africa were convicted on their own pleas of guilty to armed robbery by Bulawayo regional magistrate Mrs Sibongile Marondedze.

In passing the sentences, Mrs Marondedze who presided over the cases divided into four records ruled that the four men were a danger to society and deserved lengthy prison terms.

“In assessing the sentence, the court took into account both mitigatory and aggravating circumstances. Robbery is a serious offence which is prevalent these days and therefore calls for a deterrent sentence. What is aggravating is that the accused persons armed themselves with a firearm and crossed the border with the sole purpose of causing havoc and terror in Bulawayo and instilling fear in residents. The accused persons robbed the complainants in a movie style, which could be a clear indication that they first watched an action packed movie before engaging in this spate of armed robberies.”

Moyo and Ndlovu, the masterminds of the gang who took part in all the crimes, were incarcerated for a combined effective 64 years. The other members of the gang, Sibanda and Ncube were jailed for a combined effective 32 years.

The four men, in mitigation, told the court that poverty drove them to use an illegally acquired firearm smuggled from South Africa to instil fear in their victims before robbing them.

They were each sentenced to 10 years in jail for each count of which two years were suspended in each count for five years on condition that they do not within that period commit similar offences. Ncube, the youngest in the gang, got the least sentence of an effective eight years while Sibanda will serve an effective 24 years in jail.

We also note that President Mnangagwa last week pardoned thousands of convicts to ease congestion in the country’s correctional facilities.

The move saw all female prisoners being released. We therefore urge communities to welcome those who have just being released, treat them with dignity and respect as they have served their time, but in the same vein, we remind the ex-convicts that crime does not pay.

It is time they sit down and come up with ways to earn an honest living and desist from all forms of crime.