A Roman Catholic priest who was on a visit to Beit Bridge was robbed of two cell phones, valuable documents and a bag containing religious material, before he was stripped naked by three robbers at knifepoint, police have said.

The local police spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Hosiah Mukombero, said the incident occurred on Saturday at around 02:00. "According to our information, a Roman Catholic priest had just disembarked from a bus and was on his way to a local service, where he was scheduled to meet a relative. He was then spotted by the three suspects and they started throwing stones at him. One of the stones hit him on the head and he fell unconscious,” Mukombero said.

The suspects then searched the victim and took his bag containing clothes, religious literature, two cell phones, a passport and a driver’s licence. "Soon after that, the suspects stripped the victim of his clothes and fled from the scene, leaving him lying stark naked,” Mukombero said.

Mukombero said the suspects were later arrested after they were spotted by another complainant they had robbed earlier on, leading to the recovery of some stolen goods.

“The second complainant, a member of the Apostolic Faith Church, spotted a suspect while he was on his way to an all-night church service, and he reported to us, leading to their arrest,” Mukomberu said. The suspects also led police to the other two suspects. “The suspects are linked to a notorious robbery syndicate operating along the highway leading to the border post and mainly targeting travellers,” he said.

The suspects will appear in court soon.