A 26-year-old Beit Bridge taxi driver was robbed of his car, a Nissan March worth US$4 000, at gunpoint by two men, before they dumped him at the Makakavhule cemetery, outside the border town.

The two men had hired the taxi driver on the pretext that they intended to be ferried to a residential area, called Hlalani Kuhle, in the border town.

Local police spokesperson Chief Supt Hosiah Mukombero said the incident occurred on Sunday, at around 21:30. “The suspects approached the taxi driver at Shule Shule Business Centre on the pretext that they wanted to be ferried to Hlalani Kuhle. Along the way, one of them produced a pistol and ordered the driver to stop. They then forced the driver to divert from the route and ordered him to drive to Makakavhule cemetery where they dumped the victim, after which they sped off and left him stranded,” he said.

The victim then later walked to the police station, where he reported the matter.

Mukombero said the suspects were still at large. “We have since launched a manhunt for the two suspects, who are still on the run and we are appealing to members of the public to assist us with information which could possibly lead to the arrest of the two men,” he said. The car, a Nissan March with registration ABP 2043, has not yet been recovered.

Mukombero said the incident came hot on the heels of two similar cases in which two taxi drivers were also robbed on two different occasions at the weekend. The first incident occurred on Friday night when a taxi driver lost his car to two suspects at gunpoint. The taxi driver was later dumped at a bushy area along the Beit Bridge-Masvingo road, while his car was found abandoned at Dulibadzimu bus terminus the following morning.

On Saturday night, another taxi driver, who was also hired from Shule Shule Business Centre, was robbed, allegedly by the same men, at gunpoint. The vehicle was also found abandoned at the bus terminus. “This is the first time that we handle three similar cases in a row and we would like to believe that it could be the same suspects involved. We also would like to urge motorists, especially taxi drivers, to be extra cautious when being approached by people seeking transport, particularly at night,” Mukombero said.