Police in Zimbabwe have arrested a soldier and a discharged law enforcement officer who escaped from a robbery scene on Monday when a retired homicide detective gunned down three of their colleagues in Harare while they were ransacking his house.
In a statement, police spokesperson, Senior Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, said private Virimai Nyandoro (38) and former constable Francis Takura (33) are expected to appear in court soon.
Police identified the three men who were shot dead by Joseph Nemasia at his Chadcombe home as 21-year-old One Commando soldier Tariro Gora, Brian Koga Tendere (38) and Charles Chirara (30).
Nyathi said the police identified the three through the National Fingerprints Bureau and the Police Scenes of crime experts.
He said they recovered an AK47 magazine loaded with live rounds, Norinco pistol with a magazine of six rounds, long bar shifting spanner, five screw drivers, short bar spirit level, wheel spanner, pliers and other items.
“Investigations by the police so far have revealed that the Norinco pistol was stolen through robbery on 5th November, 2021, at a house along Bishop Gaul Avenue, Harare. Further investigations led to the recovery of a .22 rifle fitted with a telescopic sight, a 303 rifle, an AK47 magazine loaded with 25 live rounds, 303 rifle magazine loaded with seven live rounds hidden in Tariro Gora’s room.”
He said police have established that Francis Takura was discharged from the Police Support Unit in 2018.
He noted that Brian Koga Tendere was recently released from prison after serving a 10-year sentence for a robbery case which occurred in Borrowdale, Harare, in 2011.
“Charles Chirara was on bail pending trial for the ZB (Zimbabwe Bank) robbery involving US$2,775.000 and ZWL$40,000 cash-in-transit which occurred in Nyambira on 6th January, 2021, while Gora was a rogue soldier who escaped from duty with a service rifle.”
Nyathi said the gang is linked to a spate of armed robbery cases in and around Harare.
He said a 50-year-old complainant identified his stolen shoes through one of the suspects’ photos trending on social media.
There have been a spate of armed robberies of late linked to state security agents.