Masvingo (New Ziana) – One suspect in the armed robbery at Lundi Business Centre last Thursday, in which about US$20 000, a truck and smart phones were lost, has been shot dead in Zaka.

Maxwell Matembudze was shot dead on Saturday after he allegedly tried to stab police detectives attempting to apprehend him at his home.

He is the second armed robbery suspect to be shot in Zaka in recent weeks, after another thought to have been involved in the ZB Bank heist of US$2,7 million.

The detectives had tracked him to his rural home in Zaka after picking up his identity documents.

The robbers had on February 11 around 5 am jumped out of a car in which they were travelling when the vehicle was stopped at a roadblock for a routine search.

All the men in the vehicle, including the driver, jumped out and bolted from the scene.

Police officers manning the roadblock then picked a satchel with identity particulars which showed that all the men in the car were from Zaka.

Twelve detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department were dispatched to the district and swooped on Matembudze’s homestead.

Cornered, he ignored police warning shots, and tried to stab them with a knife. He was shot in the stomach, and died before admission at Musiso Mission Hospital.

Police recovered electrical gadgets, laptops, television sets and smart phones from his house.

Matembudze and his colleagues are suspected to have been behind the Lundi Business Centre robbery on February 11 around 1am during which they robbed two businessmen of over US$20 000, a truck and smart phones.
New Ziana