The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has confirmed the arrest of an armed robber who shot dead a policeman during a foiled robbery in New Luveve suburb in Bulawayo on Monday.
The policeman, Constable Gibson Tafara Madzimure (35), was shot in the head at the home of an alleged illegal foreign currency dealer, Last Mukomawashe.
Constable Madzimure was rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
National police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest. He said:
The armed robber who shot and killed Constable Madzimure has been arrested. We shall give out more details about this later.
Chronicle reported a police source as saying Mukomawashe had earlier on sought the help of the police after reporting that he was being followed by suspicious people.
Acting on the information, a team of detectives from CID Homicide and a Police Special Tactics Team from the ZRP Support Unit at Fairbridge were placed on high alert to monitor Mukomawashe.
Constable Madzimure was among some police officers who were stationed at Mukomawashe’s home in New Luveve.
The police source revealed that Mukomawashe arrived home at about 7 pm and opened the gate. He added:
When Constable Madzimure saw Mukomawashe open the gate, he moved forward from his position without observing the three-armed robbers who were now just closely behind Mukomawashe.
He was shot in the head by one of the suspects who fled from the scene on foot.