The dollarisation of the crumbling Zimbabwe economy has got robberies to be more daring in the missions. Police in Harare have launched a massive hunt for a 80 year old woman who on Monday was part of gang which robbed a women of US$2 650 and a mobile phone.
According to Police spokesperson, Inspector James Sabau, the incident took place on Tuesday evening.
The 80 year old granny pretended to be so desperate to get home while claiming she could not locate her sons at a shopping mall. She approached 55 year old Nate Chipudhla, begging for a lift home as it was getting dark.
The complainant, Nate Chipudhla who could not bear the idea of an old person suffering the distance by foot, succumbed to the tasteless bluff and agreed to drive the octogenarian home.
After driving for a while, police say the granny, who has since been on the run albeit an intensive search, suddenly asked to be drop off claiming she has spotted her sons who where driving.
The complainant stopped and the driver of the car parked his vehicle in front of hers. Two people then got out of the car, produced a pistol and ordered Chipudhla to surrender her handbag.
The complainant was immediately robbed at gun-point. Until then, it all seemed like a typical armed robbery until to Nate Chipudhla’s “surprise, the old woman also jumped into the vehicle as they drove off,” said Insp Sabau.
Since Zimbabwe “temporarily” adopted the American dollar as currency of trade, there has been an upsurge of armed robbery in the southern African nation. Some of the armed robberies have been very violent, leading to fatal incidents.
Banks and cash operated enterprises were among the first to be targeted by armed gangs.
