PASSENGERS in a pirate taxi from the Bulawayo city centre
to Emganwini suburb yesterday savagely pummelled a lone gunman suspected to be
behind a spate of armed robberies that have rocked the city in the last two
months, after he allegedly tried to rob them and hijack the taxi in which he
was also a passenger.
Nhlanhla Mhlanga (49) boarded a Toyota Wish heading to
Emganwini from the city centre but turned against other passengers and the
driver when they reached Nketa 9 suburb.
Mhlanga allegedly ordered the driver to stop the car on the
pretext that he was disembarking.
As the driver stopped, he allegedly produced a pistol and
began assaulting passengers and demanding that they surrender their
possessions.
Police sources said Mhlanga is suspected to have robbed a
number of people beginning in June this year.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul
Nyathi yesterday confirmed Mhlanga’s arrest and said he has been charged with
armed robbery as police conduct further investigations on him.
“We have arrested a male suspect Nhlanhla Mhlanga (49) who
boarded a pirate taxi between 10th and 11th Avenue along Herbert Chitepo Street
in Bulawayo. The vehicle was heading towards Emganwini. It is alleged that upon
reaching Nketa 9, the accused ordered the driver to stop the car as he was
disembarking. He then produced a pistol and started attacking the three
complainants and later turned to the owner of the car ordering him to surrender
his car keys,” he said.
“But the driver resisted and in the process one of the
complainants shouted that the accused was holding a toy gun and they all turned
on him. He tried to run away and the occupants chased him and managed to arrest
him. They later reported the matter to the police leading to the recovery of
two cellphones and a small pistol with an empty magazine.”
Asst Comm Nyathi said Mhlanga had robbed his victims of
$320, two cellphones with one of them worth $1050 while the other cost $320.
He lauded passengers and the driver for being brave and
standing their ground against the suspected armed robber.
“We want to applaud members of the public for their bravery
and we want to encourage people to be alert
at all times whenever they board these private vehicles. They also
should not board these vehicles when in the company of people that they don’t
know. That’s why we are always insisting that people should board registered
public service vehicles and even in these registered public service vehicles
they should also be alert,” Asst Comm
Nyathi said.
He declined to be drawn into confirming whether the suspect
was savagely clobbered by his victims.
“We are still conducting investigations and as more
information comes we definitely will update members of the public and the
media. He is being charged with robbery. He had taken some cellphones from the
two complainants and wanted to confiscate a satchel from the third passenger.
We are still conducting investigations and more information will come out
during the course of the investigations,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
The Chronicle is in possession of Mhlanga’s photograph
clearly showing that he had been thoroughly beaten and was bleeding from the
head.
Police sources said officers who attended the scene were
encouraged to take him for a medical check up as he had sustained serious
injuries from the beating. Chronicle
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