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Robber jailed 12 years for mugging businessman

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A 31-year-old Harare man was last week slapped with a 12-year jail term after being convicted of robbing at gun point a local businessman of $1 500 at his Kuwadzana Extension residence.

A 31-year-old Harare man was last week slapped with a 12-year jail term after being convicted of robbing at gun point a local businessman of $1 500 at his Kuwadzana Extension residence. CHARLES LAITON

Regional magistrate Simon Rogers Kachambwa convicted Nesbert Changa of the offence after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

The court, however, suspended three years.  Changa will serve an effective nine-year jail term.

Changa is said to have connived with the complainant’s brother Douglass Khumalo to set up surveillance on the businessman, Talkmore Foya, and eventually attacked him at his home.

Khumalo had since been convicted of the same offence and is serving a nine-year effective jail term.

The court heard that on August 27 this year, Changa — who was still at large before his arrest last week — hatched a plan to rob Talkmore while in the company of Khumalo and one Samson Foya after Khumalo had placed his brother under surveillance for some time at his Gulf Complex shop in Harare.

It was the State’s case that Khumalo went to Talkmore’s shop and waited until close of business saying he intended to accompany him home, purportedly to visit his sick son.

At around 11pm, Khumalo contacted Foya and Changa and supplied them with information soon after leaving Talkmore’s residence. The court heard Foya and Changa approached Talkmore at his house and chatted with him for a while.

Thereafter, they shackled him and ransacked his house after which they stole $1 500 in cash and three cellphones before force-marching him to a stream between Kuwadzana and Snake Park.

Changa is said to have produced a pistol and demanded more cash from Talkmore, after which they assaulted him with logs, removed the handcuffs and dumped him at the scene before disappearing. Allan Goche appeared for the State.