Villager robbed day after army swoop

A VILLAGER from Hagoda village, 20km north-east of Beitbridge town lost R10 000 to three armed robbers last Thursday, a day after soldiers swooped on the area which is well-known for harbouring border jumpers.

It is alleged that one of the robbers was armed with an axe which he picked from the yard, while two others brandished knives as they demanded cash from the victim, Honest Siziba.

Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena yesterday confirmed the robbery, but would not give details.

“We received a report on the robbery, but I do not have the details at the moment,” Mangena said.

Siziba told NewsDay that the robbers pounced on his homestead at night and ordered him to open the door.

“They arrived at about the same time that the soldiers had arrived the previous night demanding to search the house to see if we were not harbouring border jumpers.

“The men acted as if they had been to our place before. They wore masks and were of strong built. Apart from the R10 000, they also went away with three mobile phones. The robbery happened at around 3am,” Siziba said.

He said fellow villagers tracked footprints and discovered that one of them was wearing military shoes.

“The footsteps led to Lutumba business centre, 4km away from the village, where they disappeared on the highway from Beitbridge to Harare,” he said.

Siziba said investigations also showed that there were several prints of the same shoe all over the village, which suggested that the robbers had been moving around in search of their target.

The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) spokesperson Colonel Alphios Makotore this week raised concern over what he said were rogue and undisciplined members of the army who were engaging in armed robberies.

He said the army was taking action to restore discipline.

“The ZNA has noted with concern the increasing number of incidents where some rogue and undisciplined members of the force deployed on various duties around the country are wantonly engaging in criminal activities, thereby bringing the name of the organisation into disrepute,” Makotore said.

He said ZNA did not condone such behaviour, adding that any form of criminality committed by any of its members would be dealt with accordongly.

Meanwhile, a crack unit of the ZNA has been deployed in Beitbridge to assist a special unit of the police to deal with increased cases of smuggling and border jumping.

The soldiers, all commandos, replaced their colleagues that were deemed to be corrupt.

They have also stepped up patrols along the border aided by the Airforce of Zimbabwe's aerial support unit.