Zimbabwe: A suspected armed robber who broke into Newcastle Group of Schools in Harare and got away with electrical gadgets that were worth of US $2,500 and appeared in court on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, facing armed robbery charges.
The suspected was identified as Batsirai Chinagina aged 34 and was pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Harare magistrate – Marehwanazvo Gofa who remanded him in custody on June 13, 2024 for routine remand pending with finalization of investigations.
Reportedly, the suspected is advised to apply for bail at the High Court since he is facing a serious offence. The court held hearing on May 08, 2024, where Chinagina and his accomplices went to the school, armed with unidentified pistols and knives.
After entering inside the school premises, Chinagina opened the bedroom of Courage Giwa and produced an unidentified pistol and pointed it at him.
As per the sources, the suspected armed robbers then tied Giwa’s legs and hands with the electric cables and then left him under guard in his room.
Other accused persons then went to the parking area where they rounded up other complainants and forced them to march to Giwa’s residence.
According the documents presented before the Harare Magistrate Court states that the suspected robbers left the complainants under guard while they went to the school administration block.
They also mentioned and the court heard that on their way to the administration block, Chinagina the fired two shots into the air. The gang then allegedly used iron bars to forcefully open the main door and gain the entry.
The suspected robbers then broke into several other offices and looked for money but could not find anything to steal.
Moreover, the accused persons allegedly vandalized the ceiling of the blocks and then went to the Senior School where they broke into the storeroom and again found nothing of value upon their search.
The robbers and returned to Giwa’s residence where they stole the electrical gadgets worth of US $2,500 which includes 3×43 volts car batteries and cellphones.
