RUTENDO NGARA
A WITNESS in a kidnapping trial detailed last week how her husband was abducted by a work colleague to prevent him from implicating him in an alleged fraud case.
Cathrine Satande told the court that accused Simbarashe Emmanuel Martin Rondozai was part of a group that allegedly abducted and assaulted her husband, David Matanda.
She testified that Rondozai was among the men who arrived at their home in Zengeza 5 in May 2025, bundled her husband into a silver Honda Fit and drove away.
Satande said on the day in question, her husband’s brother, Rufaro, responded to a knock on the door and found two men who identified themselves as police officers.
She said the men demanded to see Matanda, who went outside, where she saw him being held by the belt.
“I went back into the house to take my phone and I tried calling my aunt to let her know what was taking place, but the call didn’t go through.
“They pushed my husband into a silver Honda Fit and I asked them where they were taking him to and they said they would advise me,” Satande said.She told the court that her husband returned home at around 4am with bruises all over his body.
Satande said she was afraid to go too close to the vehicle and did not see its other occupants, but her husband later told her one of the men was his work colleague.
Magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzai remanded the matter to tomorrow for continuation of trial.
The State alleges that on an unknown date in May 2025 at around 9pm, Rondozai, acting in connivance with four accomplices who are still at large, went to the complainant’s residence in a silver Honda Fit with an unknown registration number.
According to court papers, two of the suspects knocked on the complainant’s door while Rondozai remained in the vehicle with two others.
“The two who knocked identified themselves to the complainant as police officers and told him that he was under arrest.