GUNPOINT ROBBERY|| Kwekwe Man Loses US$8 500 to Armed Robbers

A 50-year old Kwekwe man and trained mine captain was last Sunday morning left counting heavy financial losses after a group of six armed robbers pounced on his residence in Amaveni suburb before getting away with hard cash totalling to US$8 500 that was stashed in a safe, Zwnews exclusively reports.

Narrating his ordeal to this publication, Admire Mbengo (main picture) said the robbery incident occurred at around 1am on Sunday 2 October, 2022.

According to Mbengo, five of the armed robbers were armed with machetes and other dangerous weapons while the other, who had a mask, was holding a pistol.

The robbers, who are still at large, reportedly used a boltcutter to cut the security wire in their pursuit of gaining entrance into the premises of the 50-year-old mine captain.

“It was around 1am when I heard a huge bang on the door- that was close to a blast- which awoken me,” Mbengo said.

“They then used a boltcutter to get access into my room before telling me to remain silent. They then started to tie me using electrical cables whilst others were already busy searching the room.

They asked me where I was keeping the cash and also enquired if there was any gold in the room,” added Mbengo.

The robbers also demanded his car keys.

He said the criminal sextet then came across the keys to his safe which they used to take the US$8 500 that was stored in his room.

“After they found the cash, they further tortured me asking for any gold deposits and I told them that there was no gold in my house. They then took my clothes from the wardrobe which they used to further tie me up and also stuffed my mouth with clothing materials and sharp objects,” a teary Mbengo narrated.

When the assailants got out of the room, leaving him alone, Mbengo who was still tied all over his body managed to get hold of his mobile phone to call the police who arrived an hour latter when the criminals had already left.

“I made a phone call to ZRP Amaveni but the officers took time to arrive, citing transport problems as the cause for the delay”.

While the robbers were outside, Mbengo managed to untie himself and skipped to a neighbour’s house to seek help.

At this point, he said, the robbers were now in his Honda CRV vehicle, trying to flee with the jalopy.

“I then screamed out for help, alerting neighbours who quickly responded,” he said.

“The robbers then started firing gunshots in the air to scare away members of the public while rushing to a car which they were using that was parked some 100 meters away from my house.  Afterwards, they sped off,” he said.

The matter was then reported at Amaveni Police Station and investigations are currently underway to ascertain the whereabouts of the six armed robbers.

Zwnews