A woman accused of attacking another woman in a toilet with ground chilli pepper before taking cash from her bag has appeared in court in Murewa.
Ruvimbo Mthetwa, 31, of Domboramwari Business Centre under Chief Mangwende in Murewa, is facing a charge of robbery with violence after the alleged attack on Linda Kariwo, 36, of Siskdale, Murewa. Mthetwa appeared before Murewa magistrate Gamuchirai Gore and was remanded to a later date while the court considers whether she is eligible for bail.
The case has drawn attention because of the alleged setting and the violence used. Prosecutors say Kariwo was attacked while she was using a toilet at Mudhe Complex in Domborembudzi Business Centre, where both women worked. The two are not related, but they were employed at the same business complex.
Kariwo works as an EcoCash agent at the complex. She was carrying a bag which contained about US$1,287 when she went to the toilet in the afternoon, according to the allegations presented in court.
Mthetwa is accused of following her into the toilet while wearing a helmet and a grey cloth. Kariwo reportedly tried to tell the woman that she was using the toilet, but the warning was ignored. When Kariwo realised that something was wrong, she stood up and moved towards the door.
It was then, the State alleges, that Mthetwa sprayed ground chilli pepper into Kariwo’s face. The pepper was allegedly used to disorientate her and prevent her from protecting the bag containing the money.
The two women then struggled inside the confined space. Kariwo tried to defend herself, but Mthetwa allegedly strangled her and threatened to kill her if she screamed. Despite the threat, Kariwo continued calling for help.
People in the area were alerted by the commotion and came towards the toilet. As members of the public moved in to assist Kariwo, Mthetwa allegedly threw the bag outside. Kariwo was rescued, but when she checked the contents of the bag, only US$915 remained.
The missing amount was about US$372. The matter was reported at Domboramwari Police Base, leading to Mthetwa’s arrest.
Mthetwa is being charged under Section 126 (1)(a) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, Chapter 9:23, which deals with robbery. The charge relates to the allegation that violence or threats of violence were used to take property from another person. She has not been convicted, and the allegations will have to be tested through the court process.
The alleged attack illustrates how a robbery can develop from an opportunity inside a workplace into a violent confrontation within seconds. Kariwo was not attacked on a deserted road or during a night-time break-in. The alleged assault happened in a business area during the afternoon, in a place where she might reasonably have expected privacy and safety.
The use of ground chilli pepper is also significant to the allegation. A sudden substance sprayed into a person’s eyes can cause intense pain, temporary loss of vision and confusion. In this case, prosecutors say the pepper gave the attacker an opening to seize the bag, while the alleged strangling and death threats were used to stop Kariwo from raising the alarm.
The case also underlines the risks faced by cash-handling workers in Zimbabwe’s busy business centres. EcoCash agents and other informal financial service workers routinely handle money belonging to customers and businesses. Their work can make them visible targets, particularly when criminals believe that cash is being moved or stored nearby.
It is not yet clear from the court proceedings whether Mthetwa had prior knowledge of the amount Kariwo was carrying or whether the alleged attack was planned in detail. The State’s case, as outlined in court, is that Mthetwa followed Kariwo into the toilet and targeted the bag during the struggle. Further evidence is expected to clarify how the suspect allegedly knew where Kariwo had gone and what happened to the money after the bag was thrown outside.
The Murewa case is not an isolated example of women appearing before Zimbabwean courts in connection with allegations involving stolen money. In a separate Harare case, saleswoman Albina Mutiza was convicted of stealing from her employer after a full trial. The court heard that money went missing over a period between April 2024 and April 2025 while she was responsible for sales at a shop in the central business district.
The missing funds were valued at US$27,375.36. The court heard that an audit was commissioned after the business noticed a decline in sales and discrepancies in the daily takings. On one occasion, Mutiza reportedly surrendered US$1,075 after printing a sales report, but the records showed that sales had been higher. She later produced US$335 from inside her jeans when questioned about the shortfall.
Mutiza denied the charge, but she was convicted and sentenced to an effective 18 months in prison. The sentence followed an initial total of 48 months, with portions suspended on conditions that included good behaviour and repayment of US$27,000 to the complainant.
Another case involved Nothando Banana, 35, in Bulawayo. Banana was convicted of theft of trust funds after an armed robbery at her workplace on October 15, 2024. The robbers were reported to have taken US$32,500, while the court found that Banana had taken an additional US$24,400 from company funds and later attempted to attribute the entire loss to the attackers.
Banana was initially granted bail, but her case proceeded to trial. She was ultimately sentenced to an effective six years in prison. The case showed the importance of investigations that compare the original robbery report with workplace records, staff accounts and the amount of money that was actually held on the premises.
A third case involved Theresa Chenjerai, 49, who was arrested in March 2025 on allegations of bribery linked to an armed robbery matter. Police alleged that Chenjerai connived with another robbery suspect and offered US$150 to a detective to testify in favour of a colleague facing 15 robbery counts at Norton Magistrates Court. The allegation was not that Chenjerai carried out the robberies herself, but that she attempted to interfere with proceedings involving an accused robber.
Taken together, the cases show different ways in which women can become suspects in criminal investigations involving money. The Murewa allegation concerns a direct physical attack on another woman. The Harare case involved the alleged repeated removal of money from a business during ordinary trading. The Bulawayo matter concerned funds allegedly taken during confusion following an armed robbery, while the Norton case involved an alleged attempt to influence evidence in a robbery prosecution.