Teenagers Jailed for Taxi Robbery in Epworth

Two teenagers have been jailed in Harare after violently robbing a taxi driver and dumping him on the roadside before fleeing with his car.

The Harare Magistrates’ Court convicted Tafadzwa Chiseva Dumbuka (18) and Nyasha Masikati (19) of robbery and sentenced them each to four years in prison with two years suspended.

They will serve an effective two-year jail term.

The court heard that on the night of 13 April 2025 the pair along with an accomplice still on the run hired taxi driver Michael Nyamudo (37) from Munyuki Business Centre to Rueben Business Centre in Epworth.

While passing Zinyengerere Cemetery along Delport Road the gang turned on the driver.

The accomplice allegedly grabbed him by the neck and struck him with a beer bottle.

Dumbuka and Masikati then dragged him to the back seat, robbed him of US$50 in cash, his wallet containing IDs and a Samsung A03 Core phone before throwing him out of the moving vehicle.

The attackers fled with Nyamudo’s Toyota Spade which was later discovered abandoned in Warren Park—stripped of its battery, radio, amplifier, speakers and keys.

Police said property worth US$7,379 was stolen during the robbery with US$7,249 later recovered.

Detectives from the CID Vehicle Theft Squad traced the stolen phone to Masikati who later implicated Dumbuka.

Masikati was arrested in Epworth while Dumbuka was tracked down in Mambeva Village, Chief Nyamandi, Gutu where he had sought refuge.

The third suspect remains at large.