Masvingo — Armed robbers broke into ZB Bank’s Triangle branch in the early hours of Tuesday and escaped with lots of cash after shooting a Fawcett Security guard who responded to the bank’s alarm.
The raid happened at about 2am, when the business centre was largely quiet. The guard was shot in the chest during the attack, but survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
The gang is also reported to have tied up security guards protecting the bank and nearby business premises before taking the Fawcett guard’s rifle. The robbers later abandoned their getaway vehicle at Ngundu as they fled from the area.
Masvingo police spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa said he had not yet received a report on the robbery when contacted for comment.
The attack has placed the security of banks and other cash-handling businesses in southern Zimbabwe under fresh scrutiny. It also comes less than a month after a separate raid on ZB Bank’s Mpandawana branch in Gutu, where robbers entered through the roof, blasted an automated teller machine and escaped with cash.
In Triangle, information gathered at the scene indicated that the robbers gained access to the bank during the night and triggered an alarm. The Fawcett guard responded to the alert, but was confronted by the gang and shot in the chest.
His bulletproof vest prevented the bullet from causing a fatal injury. The guard was left alive after the attack, while the gang continued with the raid and forced other security personnel to submit to them.
The robbers reportedly moved beyond the bank to nearby business premises, where they tied up guards who were on duty. Their actions suggest that the gang wanted to control the surrounding area while it removed cash and made its escape.
The rifle taken from the Fawcett guard adds another serious element to the robbery. The weapon was carried away by the gang as they left the branch. Their vehicle was later found abandoned at Ngundu, although the direction in which the suspects travelled after leaving the vehicle was not immediately known.
The amount of money taken from the bank had not been disclosed. It was also not immediately clear how many people took part in the raid, whether the robbers had used explosives or whether any other property was damaged inside the branch.
The incident at Triangle follows a series of attacks in which armed groups have targeted banks, ATMs, mobile-money outlets and businesses that hold cash overnight or during the closing of daily operations.
At Mpandawana Growth Point in Gutu, robbers broke into a ZB Bank branch in late August by opening a section of the roof. They then blasted an ATM inside the bank and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The Gutu robbery was discovered after the alarm system was activated during the night. The bank manager rushed to the branch to investigate and encountered the robbers inside the premises. He was injured while fleeing from the building.
The damage at the Gutu branch showed that the attackers had entered through the roof rather than using the normal customer entrance. They targeted the ATM after gaining access to the bank and left the building with cash before police could reach the scene.
The two ZB Bank attacks took place in Masvingo Province within weeks of each other. The Triangle branch is in a busy commercial area serving the sugar-producing community and surrounding settlements, while Mpandawana is a major growth point used by people from Gutu and nearby rural areas.
The repeated targeting of ZB Bank branches has raised concern among residents and business owners who depend on banks for wages, deposits, withdrawals and the movement of cash. Smaller centres often have fewer banking facilities, meaning that a single robbery can disrupt services for a large area.
The robbers escaped with US$30,000 and ZiG15,000. They also tried to capture another guard at a nearby bank, but the second guard managed to get away.
National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the Murehwa attack and said: “We are investigating an armed robbery incident which occurred in Murehwa where five suspects blew up an ATM and went away with US$30,000 as well as ZiG15,000. We will release more information later as investigations continue.”
The Murehwa robbery occurred at about the same time as the Triangle and Gutu attacks — during the quiet hours of the night when businesses were closed and only a small number of guards were present. In each case, the attackers went after cash while using violence or the threat of violence to control security personnel.
In fact, just a few days after the Gutu bank heist, armed robbers blew up a CABS automated teller machine at Govans Shopping Centre in Norton during the early hours of Tuesday morning on 1 September 2026, and escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash as police began investigating the latest attack on a cash facility.
The explosion took place at about 2 am, when the shopping centre was closed and few people were expected to be in the area. The force used to break open the ATM’s safe caused damage at the site, but the value of the money taken had not been established by the time of publication. No arrests had been made and the suspects had not been identified.
The pattern has also been seen in attacks on other cash-rich businesses. In Bulawayo, three robberies between 13 and 17 July targeted two mobile-money outlets and a cash collection centre. More than US$64,000 and R1,000 were reported stolen in those incidents.
On 13 July, two armed suspects raided a mobile-money booth at Emganwini Shopping Centre and escaped with US$2,000 and airtime worth US$280. Three days later, another mobile-money outlet in Cowdray Park was attacked as workers closed for the day. The robbers took US$8,653, R1,000 and two mobile phones used for transactions after locking employees and a customer inside an office.
On 17 July, four armed men stormed a cash collection centre along Fort Street while 16 cashiers were reconciling the day’s takings. The gang forced the employees to lie on the floor at gunpoint and escaped with about US$53,000.
The attacks have placed security guards at the centre of the risk faced by banks and other businesses. Guards are often the first people to respond when an alarm sounds, but they can be confronted before police arrive. The Triangle guard was shot while responding to the bank alarm, while the Murehwa guard was disarmed and assaulted before the ATM was attacked.
The taking of a firearm in Triangle has also increased the urgency of the investigation. Police will have to establish how the robbers entered the bank, identify the people who tied up the guards and trace the rifle and the abandoned vehicle. The vehicle may provide police detectives with evidence about the gang’s movements before and after the raid.