A Bulawayo man has appeared in court charged with robbery after he allegedly took part in a violent home invasion in which a three-month-old baby and a four-year-old child were allegedly held at gunpoint while cash and household property were stolen.
Trust Nkomo, 43, of Pumula suburb, appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Themba Chimiso.
He pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody until August 6, 2026, when his trial will continue.
The court heard that the house targeted belonged to Godknows Muleya, who operates a local security company.
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Prosecutor Samuel Mpofu alleges that Nkomo and two accomplices broke into the house at about 3am on March 31, 2026, armed with an axe and a taser.
Giving evidence, Kimberly Shambare, Muleya’s wife, told the court she had gone to bed at about 9pm after locking all the doors and windows.
She said she woke to find a man standing beside her bed holding an axe. He warned her not to scream before demanding cash, valuables and information about where she and her husband allegedly kept gold.
“A man armed with an axe stood next to my bed. Although he ordered me not to scream, I could not contain my fear. He grabbed my three-month-old baby by the legs and placed the axe on his neck, threatening to kill him if I did not give them money,” she said.
Shambare said the men ordered her out of bed before searching the bedroom.
“Nkomo hit me on the knee with the back of the axe while they ordered me off the bed. They lifted the mattress and found my husband’s pistol. He took the gun and pointed it the same way he had held the axe,” she said.
She told the court she informed the men that she had only US$15 in the house.
“I told them I had no money in the house, only US$15 that was in my bag. He tossed my son back to me and snatched the money I had removed from my bag. They also took cellphones that were in my bedroom.
“They then proceeded to the sitting room where my other son was sleeping with our helper. Again, they demanded money. She told them there was no money and handed them her phone. They went on to take other household items — a television set, a gas cylinder, USB drives and other household property.”
Muleya told the court that police detectives later asked him to identify a pistol magazine allegedly recovered from Nkomo.
“When I bought the Derya pistol together with its magazine, I engraved three dots on the plastic base plate. I positively identified the recovered magazine using those markings,” he said.
The prosecution alleges property worth US$2 683 was stolen, although items valued at about US$300 were later recovered.
Nkomo denied taking part in the robbery, telling the court he had never been to the house.
However, Mpofu argued that Shambare identified Nkomo by a scar on his face and that the recovery of the allegedly stolen pistol magazine linked him to the robbery.
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