A 23-year-old man from Zvishavane, Gabriel Nyerebani, has been sentenced to a total of 12 and a half years in prison for a series of robberies and related offences.
Nyerebani recently appeared before the Zvishavane Magistrates’ Court, where he was charged with four counts of robbery, one count of impersonating a police officer, and one count of possessing prohibited knives.
The court established that on July 10, 2024, Nyerebani and his accomplice, Tinashe Methias Nyerebani (still at large), went on a robbery spree targeting small-scale miners in Zvishavane.
The two, wearing balaclavas and in possession of pepper spray and a pistol, approached the complainants and falsely claimed to be police officers.
They then threatened the complainants and demanded cash from them.
The accused was apprehended after robbing a complainant who was panning for gold using a monster metal detector.
The robbers fired a shot into the air, causing the complainant and his co-workers to flee, leaving the metal detector behind.
The accused and his accomplice then sold the stolen metal detector back to the complainant for $50. The complainant reported the incident to the police, leading to Nyerebani’s arrest.
During the arrest, Nyerebani was found in possession of two Okapi knives, which are considered prohibited weapons.
Nyerebani was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for counts 1,2,3 and 5 (which were treated as one), of which 1 year was suspended.
He was sentenced to a further 4 years imprisonment for count 4, of which 1 year was suspended. Another 6 months imprisonment was added for count 6.
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