A border jumper from Chivi village outside Beit Bridge was left naked after he was robbed of his clothes, a cell phone and R200 at knifepoint by a man who purported to assist him across the border into South Africa illegally.

Police spokesperson C/Supt Lawrence Chinhengo said the incident occurred two weeks ago at a bushy area near the Limpopo River spillway.

The suspect, Norman Mahere (24), is linked to a notorious syndicate, operating along the Limpopo River, which is involved in assisting border jumpers as well as robbing them. “The victim allegedly approached the suspect on the understanding that he would assist him to cross the border into South Africa illegally. The two men then went together to the spillway, where the suspect assisted his victim to swim across the Limpopo River,” Chinhengo said.

Soon after they had crossed the river, Mahere allegedly pulled out a knife and ordered the victim to remove his clothes and also robbed him of a cellphone and R200. “The suspect went away with the border jumper’s clothes, leaving him stranded and stark naked in the bush,” Chinhengo said.

The victim managed to find his way back and proceeded to the Beit Bridge police station, where he reported the matter. Mahere was arrested the following morning after he was spotted by the victim, wearing the stolen clothes.

On being nabbed, Mahere led police to a house in Dulibadzimu suburb in the border town where his four accomplices were hiding and they were also arrested. Police recovered US$250 from the four men, which is suspected to have been acquired through robbing border jumpers. The four are Methuseli Malapela (23), Nkosilathi Mkandla (26), Mabuya Nkomo (21) and Brighton Nyamike (27). Nyamike was also on the police's wanted list for a series of armed robberies committed along the Limpopo River.

“We would like to believe that the five men were operating as an organised syndicate that could be involving others. We are, however, continuing with our investigations, hoping to make more arrests,” Chinhengo said. The five suspects appeared in court on Monday on robbery charges and the case was postponed to 15 April. They remain in custody.