A BEITBRIDGE magistrate has jailed four men to 12 years in prison each for armed robbery.
Regional magistrate Innocent Bepura said armed robbers were a menace to society when he sentenced Tawanda Chibwaure (33), Alex Simango (46), Humbulani Madhuma (42) and Danisa Mudhenda to 12 years in jail each.
He said the stiffer sentences would serve as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.
The four, all based in South Africa, were arrested last Friday after robbing a pirate taxi driver, Erisha Hove.
“This crime is a serious offence and attracts a maximum sentence of life imprisonment,” Bepura.
“The use of firearms has become common in Beitbridge. People are not safe and there are too many guns out there. Courts should treat first offenders with leniency, but Beitbridge has become unsafe and you should be eliminated from the public, which is no longer safe.”
Bepura said the court also took into account that the four were family men whose sentences would directly affect their children.
The complainant positively identified the quartet at an identification parade, where 11 suspects had been picked up.
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“It will be improper for the court to think this is a case of mistaken identity,” Bepura said.
“Good identification needs no corroborating and the complainant was able to tell the court about the behaviours of each of the four without any effort because he had ample time to see you.”
The four had pleaded not guilty.
Three out of the suspects claimed to have been in South Africa when the crime was committed, while Chibwaure said he was in Triangle.
The four were arrested at a roadblock in South Africa and were found in illegal possession of firearms and deported to Zimbabwe.
In their defence, the four said they were severely assaulted while in detention.
