Three men believed to be the masterminds behind a string of robberies on Golden Arrow buses made their first court appearance on Wednesday last week.
The suspects, aged 31, 32 and 42, were nabbed on Monday 5 December following a “thorough” police investigation.
The suspects are believed to have been tormenting commuters travelling around Khayelitsha in a spate of incidents.
They would catch a bus and rob unsuspecting commuters at gunpoint in Khayelitsha in broad daylight.
The accused appeared at the Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 7 December, and again yesterday (14 December). They have been remanded in Pollsmor Prison and will appear again at the same court on Tuesday 3 January.
Capt Siyabulela Vukubi, the Harare police spokesperson, said the suspects consistently pretended to be the passengers who would jump onto the bus and rob the bus driver and passengers at gunpoint.
“Harare police have combined all the cases that occurred last week between (Thursday 1 December and Saturday 3 December) and established that the same robbery method was used.
After a thorough investigation, police have on Monday 5, arrested three suspects aged 31, 32 and 42,” he said.
He said they were all arrested for armed robbery and a charge of possession for an imitation firearm would be added on one of the suspects after being found with the imitation firearm.
Vukubi said the process of linking them to other bus robberies will be conducted as several other cases are still unresolved.
Golden Arrow spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer said they have been working closely with the authorities and assisting in every way possible.
“We are very pleased that the interventions we have put in place are assisting the authorities in their pursuit of these brazen thugs.
“We believe that these arrests should send a strong message to criminals that they will be caught,” she said.
“Our passengers and employees should be able to travel without crime spilling onto our buses and we will continue to lobby the government for increased resource allocation in this regard,” said Dyke-Beyer.