Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. HARARE magistrate Noel Mpeiwa has sentenced two armed robbers already serving another prison term to 12 years after a full trial.
Tafadzwa Richard Marondera (21) and Luke Zinyengere (45), who are serving a 22-year jail term, were charged with armed robbery when they appeared in the court.
Mpeiwa ruled that the two had no tangible defence, adding that the State had proved beyond doubt that they committed the offence, given the overwhelming evidence linking them to the crime.
Prosecutor Tendai Tapi said on January 22 last year, Marondera and Zinyengere assaulted Tinashe Chikove while armed with two pistols.
The court heard that the convicts stole items, including 11 iPhone cellphones.
Marondera and Zinyengere were previously convicted and jailed for 22 years by Harare magistrate Fadzai Mtombeni after they reportedly conspired with a prison officer, Donald Madzinga, to smuggle a revolver into their cell.
The weapon was delivered by Zinyengere’s younger brother, Tinotenda, concealed in a bowl of rice.
On March 21, 2025, the two inmates executed their plan while being escorted to the Harare Magistrates Court for a hearing.
Zinyengere hid the revolver in his pants and, once outside court, brandished it, threatening prison officers escorting them to a prison truck.
The pair fled towards Mother Patrick Road amid the chaos.
Zinyengere scaled the court’s palisade fence and escaped, while Marondera was apprehended before he could get away.
Zinyengere commandeered a brown Mazda Demio after threatening the driver with the revolver and forcing him out of the vehicle.
He fled the scene at high speed even as shots were being fired by officers attempting to stop him.
The vehicle was found the following day, on March 22, along Kaguvi Street.
Witnesses reported seeing Zinyengere, dressed in civilian clothes, jumping out of the car before taking to his heels.
After three days on the run, detectives from the CID Homicide Unit apprehended Zinyengere on March 24 near Electrosales along Mutare Road.
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