A SUSPECTED armed robber, who teamed up with his accomplices to impersonate cops before robbing their victims, has been arrested.
Edwin Muchagwa, 42, from Glendale was slapped with four counts of robbery and was not asked to plead to the allegations when he appeared before Harare magistrate Barbra Mateko.
Muchagwa was having difficulties in walking when he appeared in court and claimed that he had been battered by the police while in custody.
Magistrate Mateko remanded him in custody to December 29 for his lawyer to attend his bail hearing.
Prosecutors told the court that on September 8, 2021 at around 7.30am, Muchagwa, who was in the company of Witness Nyarupa, Checksmore Godza, Ronald Munyaradzi Nyangaire and Shaun Pupurai Kondo, armed themselves with a pistol, a baton and handcuffs and they entered a house in Kuwadzana Extension in Harare.
They allegedly grabbed the complainant, who was walking in the passage, by the neck and produced a pistol, threatening to shoot her demanding all the money in the house.
It is alleged that they assaulted her before dragging her to the bedroom where they handcuffed her and stole US$3 000 which was in her purse and various mobile phones and other property before driving away with the woman’s Honda CRV car.
Nyarupa, Godza and Nyangaire are already in custody over the matter while Kondo is still at large.
In another count, the gang is also alleged to have armed themselves with firearms on November 29, 2021 and approached another person pretending to be detectives from Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Vehicle Theft Squad (VTS).
Muchagwa and his gang alleged that they were making enquiries on a vehicle engine the complainant had sold that day before producing a pistol and started demanding money.
They allegedly tied the complaint and his family and ransacked the house and stole US$360 and mobile phones before getting away with complainant’s Nissan Sylph sedan which was later dumped in Chitungwiza Unit J.
It is also alleged that on September 7, 2021 at around 7am, the gang approached another complainant armed with a pistol.
They allegedly pointed the gun at the complainant, who was at the gate and grabbed her by the neck and they all force-marched her into the premises demanding her car keys and cash.
It is alleged that they dragged her into her Toyota Allion and searched her before taking money and mobile phones.
Claims are that they drove away and went on to dump the woman along Mhondoro Road.
Further allegations are that Muchagwa and his colleagues approached another complainant armed with a pistol.
They were allegedly claiming to be making follow ups on a vehicle that had been involved in a hit and run accident.
The suspects allegedly produced a pistol and force marched the complainants into their house where they demanded mobile phones and cash.
Claims are that they assaulted the people at the house and they tied them with electric cables before taking mobile phones, cash, laptops and various clothes.
The suspects then locked the complainants in a room and rushed to their getaway car and fled.
