A gang of four ex-convicts went back to court on allegations that they robbed a Hope Fountain miner of his pistol and goods worth nearly $1,000 at gunpoint.
Andrew Mutamba 31, Phillip Mubonesi 35,and Agreement Sibanda 27,appeared before senior Bulawayo regional magistrate Trynos Utahwashe facing armed robbery charges yesterday. The accused gang was only released from prison in 2013 for armed robbery again.
The three pleaded not guilty.
However,Knowledge Mutizwa one of their alleged accomplice pleaded guilty and implicated the three in mitigation after he was charged separately.
Magistrate Utahwashe remanded Mutamba, Mubonesi and Sibanda,in custody to tomorrow.
The court heard that on August 23 last year, the trio hatched a plan to attack and rob Ronald Ngwenya who owns Coronation Gold Mine in Hope Fountain.
When they reached the mine, Mutizwa was the first to come out of the vehicle and he met a herdboy at Ngwenya’s gate.
Mutizwa, who was armed with a firearm and an iron bar, hit the herdboy with an iron bar on the head.
Mubonesi then fired one shot into the air and they tied the herdboy’s hands with a string, before force-marching him to the bedroom where Ngwenya and his wife were having supper.
They forced the herdboy to ask for kitchen keys and although Ngwenya responded saying the kitchen was open, he continued knocking until Ngwenya opened the door.
At that moment, Mutizwa used a metal bar to strike Ngwenya and who fell down. They then used the same metal bar to assault Ngwenya’s wife once on the head and then tied her hands using a string.
They demanded money and were later directed to a container which had $300.
The men then ransacked the house and stole mobile phones, clothes, blankets, bags, door handles, a mirror, a car cleaning spray and a bottle of hair spray. They fled the scene afterwards.
Ngwenya and his wife sustained serious head injuries and were rushed to hospital.
Only property worth $233 was recovered.-chronicle