Harare Magistrate: 18 Robbers Jailed for 1000 Years in Marondera Farm Raid

Eighteen armed robbers who raided businessman Wicknell Chivayo's in-laws' Alpha and Omega Farm in Marondera have been sentenced to a combined 1,000 years in prison by Harare regional magistrate Masaiona Shotgame. The magistrate imposed effective sentences of 76 years on nine of the accused, while the remaining nine were sentenced to 55 years each. Part of the sentences will run concurrently. The gang was convicted after a full trial in which all the accused had pleaded not guilty. Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines The charges stemmed from a March 18, 2025 raid in which the robbers stormed the farm at about 1am armed with three rifles, two pistols, bolt cutters, machetes and iron bars. The court heard that the gang attacked security guards Petros Mabunhu and Medic Zhakata with iron bars before forcing one of them to lead them to the bedrooms. Gerald Muteke surrendered US$18,000, a loaded pistol and a Samsung S23 cellphone, while Vimbai Muteke handed over US$1,100, a safe key and a Samsung Galaxy A35 cellphone. The robbers allegedly forced Vimbai to open the safe, from which they took a further US$55,000. The gang also raided a separate property belonging to Cossam Siminya, stealing US$10,000, several cellphones, two Samsung televisions, groceries and other valuables. They later attacked tuckshop worker Bosco Chidukudze and stole his cellphone. Lancelot Mutsokoti prosecuted. Read the original article on New Zimbabwe . AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals , representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica . To address comments or complaints, please Contact us . AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 90 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy . We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.