A man accused of taking part in a robbery at a Bulawayo bank in which hundreds of thousands of US dollars, millions of rand and gold coins were stolen has gone on trial.
Bhekani Mlilo, 40 at the time of the alleged offence, appeared before Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Matthew Mutiro charged with unlawful entry and theft in aggravating circumstances.
He denied the charges through his lawyer, Tawanda Tavengwa.
Prosecutor Owen Mugari alleges that Mlilo and an accomplice broke into a Nedbank branch along Plumtree Road in the early hours of August 27, 2023, and stole US$282 000, R2.42 million and five one-ounce gold coins.
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According to court papers, the pair allegedly cut through razor wire, climbed over the bank’s perimeter wall and entered the building through a rear office window after removing burglar bars.
The prosecution says they forced open the server room before using a gas cutting torch to break into the bank’s Chubb vault.
It is alleged they loaded the cash and gold coins into bags before removing the bank’s Network Video Recorder (NVR), which stored CCTV footage, in an attempt to destroy evidence.
The robbery was discovered later that morning when bank employees arrived for work.
The State told the court that police later intercepted a Toyota Venture allegedly used in the robbery. Prosecutors said Nedbank cash bags and plastic cash seals were recovered from beneath the vehicle’s seats.
The court heard that Mlilo allegedly carried out the robbery with Lovemore Gambiza, who is serving a prison sentence after being convicted in connection with the same case.
During the trial, the State called Khulani Sibanda, who works for Mlilo, as its first witness.
Sibanda told the court he could no longer clearly remember the events surrounding the alleged robbery because they had happened several years ago.
“The accused person is my employer. What I can remember well is that he used to come often to the workstation to park his car. He would frequently go in and out doing his other errands. However, I cannot clearly remember all the other details pertaining to this case because it happened a long time ago,” he said.
He also said he could not remember the contents of the statement he gave police, telling the court he had felt intimidated when it was recorded.
During cross-examination, Tavengwa asked the witness whether he knew where Mlilo had been on the day of the alleged robbery.
“Would you have any knowledge of where my client was on the day of the commission of the offence? He had just arrived in the country from Botswana when he came to drop off his car at the workstation,” Tavengwa said.
Mlilo also appeared in court in 2025 over allegations that he was part of a gang involved in the US$4.4 million Ecobank robbery in Bulawayo. That case is separate from the Nedbank matter.
The trial continues.
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