Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
ON Thursday a couple of weeks ago, all eyes were on Bulawayo.
Those who saw it shoot up trend lists on social media might have wondered why the City of Kings was suddenly the object of so much chatter.
If they had done any research, they would have discovered that Bulawayo was not trending for its unpredictable weather, which had, that entire week, produced the low temperatures usually associated with winter.
They would have also found out that Bulawayo was not trending because of a planned boycott of Barbourfields (BF) Stadium by Highlanders Football Club fans. BF is the Mecca for Bosso fans and whenever they willingly decide not to attend the match at the arena, then something would clearly be amiss.
This, however, was not the reason that Bulawayo suddenly found itself enjoying the country’s undivided attention.
The real reason why the City of Kings was trending lay at the corner of 9th Avenue and Fife Street, where six men had just executed the heist of the century.
An act that took just over two minutes would become the talk of the town, and country, for days afterward.
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What made that heist particularly stunning was not the fact that it was executed so brazenly on one of Bulawayo’s busiest streets or that it was done so efficiently and calmly. What shook Zimbabwe was that six gun-wielding men had just driven off with more than US$4 million, an eye-watering sum that made it the largest recorded heist in Zimbabwean history.
While that robbery was astounding, it merely continued a trend that has seen an increasing number of jaw-dropping heists around Zimbabwe over the last few years.
Robberies that most Zimbabweans thought occurred in some of the country’s neighbours have become commonplace, as armed gangs hit closer and closer to home.
As daring as the Ecobank armed robbers were, they were not the first to make off with large sums of money in a heist. From banks to gold mines, Zimbabwean institutions have over the years fallen prey to daring gunmen whose dastardly exploits have left tongues wagging across the country. Below are some of the robberies that shocked the country over the last few years.
The CBZ robbery (2020)
For members of the public who were going about their business, there seemed to be nothing unusual in the service lane along 8th Avenue between Jason Moyo and Joshua Mqabuko Street in Bulawayo on the morning of 5 November, 2020.
Only two men were aware of the drama that was unfolding as everyone else attended to their own matters. Those two men, security guards working for Fawcett, were delivering Zupco’s weekend cash collections to CBZ 8th Avenue branch when suddenly they were accosted by six men. After they disarmed the first guard, the six goons turned their attention to the other guard who they also assaulted. They left behind a plume of smoke and two shell-shocked security guards reeling from their lightning-quick assault.
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CBZ Bank
As people went about their business, they had no clue that one of the country’s great heists had just been quietly executed in their midst. The daring robbers had just got away with over $2,1 million, US$3 362, and R7 390.
Only $11 305 was recovered at a disused house at a plot in the Douglasdale area in Bulawayo where the getaway car, a Nissan Hardbody, and trunks used by the security company to carry cash were recovered.
The robbers had only an hour before the drama outside the bank hijacked a Mercedes Benz in Selbourne Park. They would later use it as their gate-away vehicle. Later that same day the same robbers would continue their spree in Kezi, where they robbed a Fidelity Printers agent of US$4 000 after masquerading as police officers.
The ZB Bank robbery (2021)
In January 2021, Zimbabwe woke up to the news that a cash-in-transit truck carrying over US$2,7 million had been robbed. The heist reportedly took place while the money was being transported to seven ZB Bank branches in Chinhoyi, Kadoma, Kwekwe, Gweru, Bulawayo, Gwanda and Zvishavane.
There was widespread shock at the fact that armed men had made off with such a large sum of cash, but also concern at the health of the guards who had been waylaid by what was thought to be ruthless cash-hungry thugs.
What Zimbabwe did not know was that the country had just witnessed one of the most elaborately planned fake robberies in its history.
When the full details emerged, it was revealed that three security staffers, Nomatter Jonga, Matthew Simango and Fanuel Musakwa had been tasked to deliver seven boxes containing US$2 775 000 to the seven branches.
Instead of going about their designated task, the three picked up unknown men at the Westgate roundabout in Harare and drove to Inkomo Tollgate where they collected a box containing $43 090, which was supposed to be deposited at the bank. They then picked up three more men at Inkomo Barracks turn-off as they drove towards Chinhoyi.
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On the 60km peg, the trio executed their coup de grace, as they staged the fake robbery, which was meant to fool any inquisitive investigators. It would later emerge that Jonga, a former internal security manager for cash-in-transit at ZB Bank, was the mastermind behind the robbery, while Musakwa had been in contact with the robbers throughout their journey.
Jonga would later be arrested in 2022, after spending a year hiding in South Africa. He had returned to the country in the mistaken belief that the dust had settled.
The trio were jailed for an effective eight years each by Harare regional magistrate Mr Clever Tsikwa, with authorities confiscating all the recovered proceeds of the robbery including US$130 300 and a fleet of vehicles such as Honda Fit, Toyota Hiace Baby Quantum, Dunno truck, Toyota Parcel and Lexus.
The How Mine robbery (2022)
While the robberies that have captured the imagination of Zimbabweans over the last few years are usually violence-free and bloodless, the How Mine robbery of October 2022 illustrated that the heists are a high-stakes life-and-death game for both perpetrators and victims alike.
In early October, what security details from Securico thought would be a routine gold drop-off turned into a Hollywood-style shootout after their convoy was ambushed by 13 men.
The robbers, who were in a Toyota Hilux GD6, a Nissan Hardbody single-cab and a Nissan March, ambushed and blocked the convoy on the 21-kilometre peg along the Bulawayo-How Mine Road, disarming the security guards and taking possession of 11,9 kilogrammes of gold worth US$675 000.
While most of the security details were subdued, one guard, only known as Makoni, decided to fight fire with fire, pursuing the robbers and engaging in a shootout with them. When he eventually lost track of the robbers around Ekusileni Hospital, Makoni’s car was riddled with bullet holes, with some expressing at the time that it was a minor miracle he had not been seriously injured during the exchange.
Police would, a few days later, pounce on three of the robbers, recovering stolen items that had been abandoned at a house under construction along Folly Road in West Sommerton. Car keys, 3x9mm spent cartridges, a black glove, a 303 rifle loaded with eight live rounds and three empty metal boxes were all that remained from the heist.
The gang would also be fingered in heists at two financial institutions, a fruit and vegetable wholesale and a grocery shop between May and October.
In total, the gangsters are said to have stolen US$858 000 and R508 000 in five raids within four months. Among the gang of 13 were Abraham Vumbunu, Elijah Vumbunu, and Israel Zulu, three men that are now suspected to have taken part in last week’s Ecobank heist.
