Five suspected armed robbers posing as passengers reportedly carried out a brazen heist aboard a Beitbridge-bound Blue Circle Buses coach in the early hours of Thursday morning.
As reported by NewsDay, the suspects boarded the bus and then proceeded to rob the passengers of their cash and valuables. Before fleeing the scene, the robbers fired a shot in the air.
The robbery took place at around 2:30 AM, just after the bus had passed the turn-off to Neshuro in Mwenezi District, approximately 165 kilometres north of the border town of Beitbridge.
Roy Gonyora, the director of Blue Circle Buses, confirmed the incident and expressed concern that the bus driver had not followed the company’s instructions on where to make stops. Said Gonyora:
You tell them things, but they do not heed instructions. They must not drop passengers in remote places at night.
According to a message circulating on WhatsApp, the five suspected armed robbers boarded the Blue Circle Buses coach at the Mbare bus terminus in Harare and paid their fares for the trip to Beitbridge.
The message further reveals that when the bus reached Lundi, approximately 100 kilometres south of Masvingo, one of the men requested to be dropped off just after the turn-off to Neshuro.
As the bus approached the designated spot, the suspected robber who had asked to disembark then signalled to his four accomplices, seemingly indicating that they all wanted to get off at that point.
When the bus stopped, the conductor went out first, at which point the suspected robber, brandishing a pistol, ordered the conductor back into the vehicle.
It is alleged that the other four suspects simultaneously drew out knives and commanded the driver to pull the bus off the highway. Reads the WhatsApp message:
The driver was ordered to turn left at Vilivili and instructed to switch off all lights. All passengers and crew were ordered to surrender cash. They threatened to kill anyone who did not surrender their belongings.
After robbing the passengers, one of the suspects fired a single shot into the air, presumably to further intimidate the passengers. The armed gang then swiftly disappeared into the surrounding darkness.
When contacted by NewsDay for a comment, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson for Masvingo Province, Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa, said he was yet to receive confirmation of the incident from the Mwenezi Police.
However, he acknowledged having seen the message circulating on social media platforms.
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