FIVE robbers armed with a pistol and iron bars allegedly
pretended to be police officers, handcuffed a woman who was breastfeeding and
put her in leg irons before choking her baby while demanding cash in Bulawayo’s
Nkulumane suburb.
The gang allegedly stormed Mrs Precious Jiyane’s home
around midday on Sunday and got away with US$100, RTGS$46 and five cell phones.
Mrs Jiyane, who appeared to be still in shock, yesterday
told The Chronicle she got the fright of her life when the robbers returned and
tried to break into her home around 2AM yesterday.
She said she was alone feeding her child on Sunday, as
members of her family had gone to church, when the robbers barged into her
house and introduced themselves as police officers.
Mrs Jiyane said they accused her of being a siphatheleni
(illegal foreign currency dealer). The robbers, she said, snatched her baby and
force-marched her into a spare room.
“One of them cuffed me, put me in leg irons, tied me to a
chair with a fleece blanket and locked me in the spare room. The others
ransacked the house looking for cash,” she said.
Her husband who is a soldier was away at work. Mrs Jiyane told The Chronicle she is not a siphatheleni but
a vendor.
“The robber who cuffed me showed me his gun and threatened
to shoot me if I made noise,” she said. Mrs Jiyane said she was horrified, thinking the gang could
rape her.
“They choked my baby when he started crying as the others
turned the house upside down looking for money.
These evil people choked my baby because they did not want his crying to
attract our neighbours. I’m waiting for my husband so that we go to clinic
together to get our baby checked. His throat appears injured,” she said.
She said after the robbers left, she managed to open the
door with spare keys, screamed for help and her neighbours called the police.
“Officers from Nkulumane Police Station tried to remove
cuffs with a pair of pliers but failed. We went to the police station where the
leg irons and handcuffs were removed,” she said.
She said just when she thought her ordeal was over, the
robbers returned in the wee hours of the morning.
“They broke a window. We screamed for help and they fled,”
she said. Bulawayo police spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango
confirmed the incident.
However, she said instead of five stolen cell phones police
recorded only three. “Police are hunting the suspects who are still at large.
The total value of the stolen items, excluding the US$100 is RTGS$913,” said
Chief Insp Simango.
She commended Mrs Jiyane’s neighbours for calling the
police saying fighting crime was a community initiative. Chronicle
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