Six arrested after Bulawayo businessman foils daylight cash heist
Six men have appeared in court over an attempted armed robbery at a tuckshop outside Bulawayo after the owner returned fire, forcing the group to flee without taking cash or goods.
The alleged operation began with two men entering the shop at Warringham Plots at about 2.30pm on October 14. They bought a packet of sausages while looking around the premises, then left. Three other men came in moments later, also posing as customers, before one allegedly produced a pistol and demanded money from the workers.
The shop owner, who had been in a bedroom while employees served customers, came out after hearing the commotion. Prosecutor Karen Gundani told the court: “Upon being confronted by the complainant, the accused persons opened fire towards the complainant, who dashed for cover and returned fire using his legally registered pistol, issued for the protection of cash in transit,” Gundani said.
The account presented in court said the businessman used a registered 9mm FN Browning pistol. The suspects allegedly fired as they escaped from the premises and ran into nearby bush. No one was injured, and nothing was taken from the shop.
The six accused are Thabo Ndlovu, 29, Mennerd Sibanda, 24, Forward Dube, 29, Prince Makhaza, Lerato Takane and Norman Hadebe, 52. Ndlovu, Sibanda, Makhaza, Dube and Takane are based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Hadebe lives in Magwegwe North, Bulawayo.
They appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Sibongile Marondedze on October 20. They were not represented by lawyers and were remanded in custody until October 30. The court advised them to apply to the High Court for bail.
Police were alerted after the attempted robbery. Investigators recovered four spent 9mm cartridges at the scene, then searched the surrounding bush. Detectives found one of the suspects hiding in a thicket, where they also recovered a PAK pellet gun with no serial number, according to the court account.
Further arrests followed. Dube and Hadebe were arrested in Magwegwe North, where police had laid an ambush. The remaining suspects were arrested in Bulawayo city centre. They were allegedly planning to regroup there before returning to South Africa.
The court was told that the group had approached the shop in stages, with the first pair appearing to make an ordinary purchase before the others entered. The workers were serving customers when the armed man made his demand. The owner’s arrival led to an exchange of gunfire, and the suspects left without securing the money they had sought.
The attempted heist is one of several armed robberies reported in Bulawayo this year. In February, police investigated separate attacks on shops in Luveve and Entumbane. In the Luveve robbery, three men allegedly entered a supermarket as it was closing and threatened employees with pistols. They were accused of taking US$830, R1,250 and three mobile phones from workers, as well as an undisclosed amount from the tills.
One employee tried to restrain a suspect as the group left. Police said one of the men fired a shot into the ground, forcing the employee to let go. The suspects fled into darkness.
In the Entumbane case, four men allegedly entered a shop pretending to be customers before producing pistols and ordering people to lie down. They allegedly slapped the 22-year-old manager, demanded cash and the safe keys, and took US$6,700 and a CCTV hard drive. Four mobile phones, US$15 and R30 were also reported stolen from employees. The group reportedly tied the workers’ hands and legs with shoelaces and locked them in a storeroom before fleeing.
A separate raid was reported at Mthombowesizwe Primary School in Entumbane early on October 22. Five masked men, dressed in black, allegedly targeted a safe in the school’s administration block. They are said to have tied up a Bulawayo City Council security guard before forcing their way into the block. The men reportedly carried grinders, which they used during the break-in.
Two gunshots were heard at about 4.15am as police responded. The suspects were believed to have escaped by jumping over the school’s perimeter wall. The amount of money in the safe, and whether any cash was taken, had not been established. No arrests had been made by the time investigators were at the school.
The guard sustained minor injuries and was assisting police. Residents who were awake discussed the incident in neighbourhood WhatsApp groups after the gunshots were heard. The school raid followed reports of robberies targeting shops in Entumbane, while the February case also involved a shop in the suburb.
In the Warringham Plots case, investigators’ searches and arrests stretched from bush around the tuckshop to Magwegwe North and the city centre. The six men are due back in court on October 30, after their appearance on attempted armed robbery charges.
At the school, the reported target was the safe inside the administration block, rather than classrooms. The guard was the only person identified as having been injured, and the injury was described as minor. Police response brought officers to the scene while the suspects were believed to have left over the perimeter wall. Investigators were still at the school as they worked to establish what had happened to the money in the safe.