Sibonginkosi
Sibanda (49) of Cowdray Park suburb, who was initially arrested for armed
robbery, now faces a money laundering charge after police admitted they had no
solid evidence placing him at the scene of the October 2023 robbery. He remains
in custody and is set to return to court on July 21.
The case took a
dramatic twist last week when Sibanda’s lawyer, Prince Butshe-Dube of Butshe
and Associates, tore into the State’s case and exposed glaring inconsistencies
in the police’s handling of the investigation.
What was billed
to be a nail-in-the-coffin hearing turned into a courtroom rollercoaster.
Detective Assistant Inspector Tawedzerwa Shiriyapenga, the investigating
officer, came under heavy fire during cross-examination.
Butshe-Dube
grilled Shiriyapenga on why Sibanda was now facing different charges from those
in his initial arrest. The detective fumbled when asked if the original charge
was armed robbery. He denied it, only for his own affidavit written that same
morning to contradict him.
The defence
also pointed out that Sibanda had no prior convictions and had not fled when
summoned for questioning. But prosecutors claimed he had bought multiple
properties using proceeds from the heist and could interfere with
investigations.
The court heard
that the properties allegedly linked to Sibanda include two houses in Cowdray
Park and Mbundane, two rural homesteads, a Honda Fit and a Hino truck. Some of
the assets are said to be registered under his wife and daughter.
Despite the
detective visibly losing his composure during questioning, he stuck to his guns
and insisted Sibanda posed a flight risk.
Butshe-Dube
argued that without evidence linking his client to the robbery, keeping him
locked up was unjustified.
The Ecobank
robbery, carried out in Bulawayo last year, remains the biggest cash-in-transit
heist in Zimbabwe’s history. With the recent arrest of the Vumbunu brothers in
South Africa, police believe they are edging closer to cracking the case.
But with the
way things are unfolding in court, some are wondering whether justice is truly
within reach, or if the biggest heist mystery is still far from being solved. B
Metro
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