A Bulawayo man accused of taking part in an armed robbery in which a gun was allegedly pointed at a three-month-old baby and a four-year-old child threatened with an axe has denied the charges, despite cellphone evidence allegedly placing him at the scene.
Trust Nkomo, 43, is accused of being part of a gang that allegedly robbed a Bulawayo family of cash and property worth US$2,683, including a firearm belonging to the homeowner.
The court heard that Nkomo’s alleged accomplices remain at large.
Police investigations allegedly placed Nkomo at the scene, while a witness also positively identified him during an identification parade.
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However, Nkomo denied taking part in the robbery, telling the court that the identification parade had been unfairly conducted.
“Your Worship, I know nothing about the charges being levelled against me. I was never at the scene of the alleged crime,” Nkomo testified.
“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.”
But State representative Samuel Mpofu argued that the investigation had produced evidence linking Nkomo to the robbery.
“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.
One of the victims, Kimberly Shambare, told the court that she identified Nkomo because of a distinctive facial scar.
She said she had gone to bed at about 9pm after locking the doors and windows when she was later awakened by a man wielding an axe.
“I was later awakened by a man wielding an axe who ordered me not to scream before demanding cash, valuables and gold,” Shambare said.
She told the court that the man threatened her four-year-old child during the robbery.
“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 ordered her out of bed before ransacking 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.
Shambare said she told the attackers that she had no money in the house apart from US$15 in her bag.
“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,” she said.
She said the gang later moved to the sitting room, where the family’s 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,” Shambare said.
Another State witness, Godknows Muleya, told the court that police detectives later called him to identify a firearm magazine loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition that had allegedly 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.
The State alleges that part of the stolen property was recovered from Nkomo.
Bulawayo Provincial Magistrate Themba Chimiso postponed the matter to September 17 for judgment.
Nkomo has denied the allegations and remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty by the court.
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