A 30-year-old armed robber hailing from Beit Bridge was sentenced to an effective 10 years in jail, for robbing a stranded South African tourist of valuables worth R12 150 at a lay-bye point along the Beit Bridge-Masvingo road.

The victim had parked his vehicle after it had developed a mechanical fault.

Tawanda Masunda of House Number 609, Dulibadzimu suburb in the border town, pleaded not guilty to four counts of armed robbery, but was convicted by the local regional magistrate, Mr Owen Tagu. Masunda was sentenced to 12 years, two of which were conditionally suspended for five years.

The prosecutor, Mr Johannes Tlou, said on April 18, at around 03:00, the victim was travelling from South Africa to Harare and his car developed a mechanical fault a few kilometres outside Beit Bridge. He then parked the vehicle at a lay-bye point, so that he could attend to it.

Masunda, who was in the company of his two accomplices, Tanaka Jana and Webster Mawere, who are still at large, spotted the complainant’s car from a distance. The trio, who were travelling in a Mazda 323, approached the complainant and Masunda produced a pistol, while his other accomplices were carrying iron bars and ordered their victim to lie down.
 

The court heard that the trio searched the victim’s vehicle and stole an undisclosed amount of money, 75 litres of petrol and a bag containing clothes and several valuable items, before driving off at high speed. The victim went to the local police station where he reported the matter, leading to the arrest of Masunda and the subsequent recovery of stolen goods worth R4 500.