Harare magistrate, Ignatius Mhene has slapped notorious armed robber, Musa Taj Abdul and his friends have been given a combined 156 jail term for the 13 counts of armed robberies they committed years ago.
Abdul and his accomplices, Charles Lundu and Sean Dlamini were on the run for 20 years until the net closed in on them in 2020.
On Friday, Mhene jailed the trio for 52 years each before suspending part of their sentence leaving them to serve 38 years effective.
They were sentenced to 10 years each on the first count and seven years each for every remaining count.
Mhene said a clear message should be sent to the society that armed robbery will not be condoned in Zimbabwe.
Taj Abdul is accused by police of masterminding numerous criminal activities, including high-profile robbery cases reminiscent of the Chidhumo-Masendeke robberies which kept the nation spellbound in the 1990s.
In one of the latest counts they were convicted for, prosecutor Kelvin Munyimi proved that on July 24, 2020, the three pounced at house number 40 Longford Street, Queensdale, Harare while armed with a shotgun, pistols, hammer and iron bar.
“They went on to demand cash amounting to US$1,656, a Sony Ericsson314 cell phone, a Nokia cell phone, Samsung cell phone, and a Huawei Y9, among other pieces of property from one Lyle Leonard Wilson,” said the state.
They stole a range of valuables before they went away.
It was proved they attacked several more victims going away with loot worth thousands of dollars.
