Six men have appeared in court facing charges of attempted armed robbery following a failed daylight robbery at a tuckshop on the outskirts of Bulawayo.
Thabo Ndlovu (29), Mennerd Sibanda (24), Forward Dube (29), Prince Makhaza, Lerato Takane and Norman Hadebe (52) appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Sibongile Marondedze on Tuesday.
The court heard that Ndlovu, Sibanda, Makhaza, Dube and Takane are based in Johannesburg, South Africa, while Hadebe lives in Magwegwe North, Bulawayo. The six, who were not legally represented, were remanded in custody to 30 October and advised to apply to the High Court for bail.
Prosecutor Karen Gundani told the court that on 14 October, at around 2.30 pm, the complainant, who runs a tuckshop at Warringham Plots, was in his bedroom while his employees were serving customers.
Two of the accused allegedly entered the shop, bought a packet of sausages and surveyed the premises. As they left, three others entered, also posing as customers.
One of the men then allegedly produced a pistol and demanded money from the workers. The complainant left his bedroom to investigate.
“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 court heard that the complainant used a registered 9mm FN Browning pistol. The suspects allegedly shot their way out of the premises and fled into nearby bush without injuring anyone or taking any property.
Four spent 9mm cartridges were recovered at the scene after a report was made to the police.
Detectives who searched the surrounding bush allegedly found one of the suspects hiding in a thicket and recovered a PAK pellet gun with no serial number.
Further investigations led to the arrest of Dube and Hadebe in Magwegwe North, where police had laid an ambush. The remaining suspects were arrested in Bulawayo city centre, where they were allegedly planning to regroup before fleeing to South Africa.
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