By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
Two teenagers have been jailed by the Harare Magistrates Court after being convicted of a violent taxi robbery that left a driver injured and dispossessed of his belongings.
Tafadzwa Chiseva Dumbuka (18) and Nyasha Masikati (19) were each handed an effective two-year jail term for the April 13 robbery, which took place along Delport Road in Epworth.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPA), the duo, together with an accomplice still on the run, hired taxi driver Michael Nyamudo (37) to ferry them from Munyuki Business Centre to Rueben Business Centre.
However, as they passed Zinyengerere Cemetery, the accomplice allegedly grabbed the driver by the neck and struck him with a beer bottle. Dumbuka and Masikati then dragged Nyamudo into the back seat, searched him, and stole US$50 in cash, a wallet containing identification documents, and a Samsung A03 Core cellphone.
The robbers pushed Nyamudo out of the moving vehicle and sped off in his Toyota Spade, which was later recovered dumped in Warren Park. The car was missing its battery, car radio, amplifier, speakers, and keys.
In total, property worth US$7,379 was stolen, with US$7,249 eventually recovered.
Detectives from the CID Vehicle Theft Squad traced the stolen cellphone to Masikati, leading to his arrest in Epworth. He later implicated Dumbuka, who had fled to Mambeva Village in Gutu for refuge before being apprehended.
The court found both young men guilty of robbery and sentenced them to four years in prison each, with two years suspended for five years, leaving them to serve an effective two years behind bars.
Meanwhile, police say the search is ongoing for the third suspect still at large.