Harare, (New Ziana) – A wave of violent robberies has hit the country, sending shock-waves and prompting police to launch full-scale investigations into two recent major heists in Mt Darwin and Bulawayo, a senior police officer has said.
In a statement, national police spokesperson, Paul Nyathi said in a daring heist on Wednesday, three unidentified armed robbers stormed a commercial bank in Mt Darwin at around 2:00 AM, and made off with US$700 000 cash and 2.4 kg of gold.
He said the suspects, who were armed with pistols, overpowered a security guard stationed at the premises before gaining entry into the bank premises.
“The ZRP is investigating a robbery case which occurred at a bank in Mt Darwin CBD on 26/06/25 at around 0200 hours. Three unknown suspects, armed with pistols, pounced on the bank, attacked the security guard who was on duty at the premises and then broke into the bank, where they blasted open a safe and stole approximately USD700,000 and 2.4 kilogrammes of gold,” said Nyathi.
He said police were currently combing through CCTV footage and other forensic evidence as part of their investigations, but no arrests have been made yet.
In a similar incident, Nyathi said Bulawayo police were investigating a robbery that occurred on Tuesday, June 25, at Old Nic Mine where three armed suspects allegedly attacked the mine’s offices, after confronting and assaulting three individuals who were present at the time.
He said the robbers made off with US$520,000 in cash and two mobile phones. Meanwhile, in a swift response to another robbery case, Nyathi said police in Chitungwiza arrested Providence Shumba (32) in connection with a robbery that occurred on Wednesday at an Ecocash shop in Unit O.
Armed with an okapi knife, Shumba allegedly stormed the shop around 8:30 PM, threatening two individuals who were counting money and airtime cards and reportedly made off with USD180 in cash, USD1,000 worth of airtime, and two mobile phones.
Thanks to quick police action, both phones and USD500 worth of the stolen airtime were recovered. Shumba is expected to appear in court soon.
Nyathi is urging members of the public with any information related to the Mt Darwin and Bulawayo robberies to come forward. “We are committed to bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice. Community support is vital in solving these cases,” he said.
New Ziana
