9 men armed with guns last weekend pounced on the house of opposition party Ideas Party of Democracy (IPD) leader Hebert Chamuka in Rusape and assaulted his tenants before they drove off with goods worth thousands of US dollars, The Standard reports.
The incident was confirmed by Manicaland provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa who said this to the publication:
I can confirm that we received an armed robbery report in Rusape. The incident took place on Saturday night. Investigations are currently underway and we appeal to all those with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspects to come forward.
Chamuka also confirmed the incident from his South Africa base and said:
It looks like this is more than just a robbery case. This could be the work of my political rivals in or outside the party. It has been reported to police.
My tenants called me to say nine people came and harassed then totting guns and locking them up in a room and threating to kill them if they shouted. They also took phones from the women that stay at my house. The men had the women’s hands tied and kept on kicking them, throwing threats that they would kill them.
They sped off in a truck and the tenants fortunately managed took the registration number which they took to police.
Armed robbery cases have increased over the last few months with Beitbridge recording a lot of the cases which are reportedly being conducted by criminals who put boulders across the highway and shoot at cars that stop to clear the road before they can proceed.
More: The Standard