BULAWAYO Provincial Magistrate Themba Chimiso has convicted a 43-year-old man who pointed a gun at a three-month-old baby and threatened a four-year-old child with an axe during an armed robbery.
Trust Nkomo pleaded not guilty to the charges, denying that he was at the scene, but Magistrate Chimiso ruled that the State had presented overwhelming evidence linking him to the robbery.
The court heard that police investigations, including cellphone triangulation, placed Nkomo at the scene of the crime. He was also positively identified by two State witnesses during an identification parade.
“Two State witnesses managed to identify you at an identification parade. One of the witnesses told this court that she identified you by the mark of a gun on the face and the court observed a sign of the gun on the face,” Chimiso said.
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“Your phone, which was taken for triangulation, showed that you were at the crime scene on the day the robbery occurred. You were also found in possession of a gun which was used in committing the crime and that gun is the one you stole from one of the complainant’s houses.”
Nkomo and his accomplices, who are still at large, allegedly stole cash and property worth US$2,683, as well as a firearm belonging to the owner of the house.
The matter was postponed to September 21 for sentencing.
Nkomo had challenged the identification parade, claiming it was unfair and that he had been placed at a disadvantage.
“Your Worship, I know nothing about the charges being leveled against me. I was never at the scene of the alleged crime. During the parade, in which I was positively identified, I had been bundled with short people who were also well dressed. I was at a disadvantage,” Nkomo testified.
However, State representative Samuel Mpofu told the court that investigations had been thorough and that some of the stolen property had been recovered from Nkomo.
“The state witnesses positively identified you during a parade. And the magazine, which was positively identified by the owner, was recovered in your possession. There was your cellphone, which was triangulated and showed you were at the place of the crime around 3AM,” Mpofu said.
State witness Kimberly Shambare, who was in the house when the armed robbers struck, told the court that she identified Nkomo by a distinctive facial scar.
“I went to bed around 9pm with my children after locking all the doors and windows. I was later awakened by a man wielding an axe who ordered me not to scream before demanding cash, valuables and gold,” she said.
“He stood next to my bed. Although he ordered me not to scream, I could not contain my fear. He grabbed my four-year-old child by the legs and placed the axe on his neck, threatening to kill him if I did not give them money.”
Shambare said the gang then ordered her off the bed and ransacked 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 at my three-month-old child while demanding cash,” she testified.
“I told them I had no money in the house, only US$15 that was in my bag. He snatched the money I had removed from my bag. They also took cellphones that were in my bedroom.
“After that, they proceeded to the sitting room where our housemaid was sleeping. Again, they demanded money. She told them there was no money and she handed them her phone. They went on to take a television set, a gas cylinder, USB drives and other household items.”
Another State witness, Godknows Muleya, testified that police detectives called him days after the robbery to identify a firearm magazine loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition that had been 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,” Muleya said.
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