A cleaner and a
gardener from a Chinese-owned company in Gweru teamed up with a cellphone
dealer, two mystery men from Kadoma, and a whole lot of bad decisions to pull
off a daring US$40 000 theft.
The sensational
heist at Nelson Holdings in Gweru has taken a dramatic turn after gardener
Felix Chikowo was sentenced to six years in prison, with one year suspended.
That leaves the once-trusted groundsman staring down the barrel of five years
behind bars after he quietly pleaded guilty in court this week.
Standing before
Magistrate Beaulity Dube, Chikowo could barely whisper his plea. But CCTV
footage and a money trail had already spoken louder than words.
The daring
theft, which played out on the night of June 21, saw a safe dragged across town
to Mkoba 6, where the loot was shared like festive bonuses. Chikowo and his
co-accused, cleaner Rachael Mujakachi, were each handed US$6 000, while the
rest of the cash vanished with two mystery men from Kadoma — one of whom, we
now learn, may have been sleeping with the cleaner.
Mujakachi is
now telling the court a story that has left jaws on the floor. She claims she
didn’t steal a cent. Instead, she says the US$6
000 she received came from her new lover, a man she only knows as
Gwazemba, who allegedly replaced her ex — none other than co-accused Langton
Muza, better known in town as Gwedegwe, a flashy cellphone dealer.
According to
Mujakachi, Gwazemba handed her the money while she was asleep in her room. She
says she thought it was for her upkeep.
“He was my
lover and part of the people who brought the safe home,” she told the stunned
court. “I never asked where the money came from. I thought it was for my
maintenance.”
That twist has
now added more fuel to the fire of this already explosive case.
Mujakachi, who
has denied the charges, remains in custody until her trial on 10 July, while
Gwedegwe, still denying all involvement, is set to appear on 11 July.
What is not in
dispute is that police were led straight to the stash thanks to alert
detectives and unforgiving CCTV footage. Cameras caught Chikowo moving in and
out of the Nelson Holdings office. When detectives raided his rented room, they
found US$3 000 under the bed and another US$3 000 with his mother-in-law.
Mujakachi tried hiding hers in her room, but cops sniffed out US$5 800. She
claimed the missing US$200 had been blown during a shopping spree in Harare.
The Kadoma crew
are still on the run, ghosting everyone, including Gwedegwe, who claims he got
nothing and knows nothing.
But as the
trials approach, all eyes are on how the remaining accused will spin their way
out. Represented by Gweru lawyer Esau Mandipa, they’ll need all the courtroom
magic they can summon.
Prosecutor
Brandon Ndlovu says the State has more evidence coming and the story is far
from over.
From cash under
mattresses to lovers turned suspects, the Gweru heist saga continues. B Metro
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