A 39-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested on allegations of making a false report to the police that he had been robbed of US$287 000 cash and a vehicle by four armed robbers in Mutoko.
National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest and said investigations were still in progress.
On December 11, 2024, at around 10am, Khumbulani Sibanda went to ZRP Mutoko where he reported that at around 8am, he was robbed of US$287 000 cash and an unregistered Toyota Allion car in the Harare central business district by four robbers who were driving a Ford Ranger double cab whose registration number was unknown.
He said the robbers later dumped him in Mutoko and went away with his vehicle.
Sibanda had indicated that on December 4, 2024, he assigned a security company to transport his cash amounting to US$2,3 million from Matabeleland South to Harare for safekeeping, intending to buy residential and business properties in the capital.
He had allegedly taken the stolen money from the security company's vault intending to make property payments for a business property in Melfort and residential property in Goodhope.
After receiving the report, detectives from CID Mutoko took over the case and carried out preliminary investigations by visiting the place where he alleged that he was dumped, but failed to get any clues.
They liaised with CID Homicide Harare while escorting him to Harare. The detectives from CID Homicide made enquiries which revealed that in a space of a month, Sibanda had visited six Fawcett security firm branches in different towns asking for cash-in-transit (CIT) services.
They also established that he had no mining operations in Filabusi, Matabeleland South Province, as he had alleged.
Further investigations by the police revealed that Sibanda had lied that he had obtained the cash from Safeguard as officials from the security company denied knowing him as their client and that he had no money that was being kept there.
It was further established that between December 4 and 11, 2024, Sibanda had visited several business and residential owners promising to buy their properties in Melfort, Goodhope, Mainway Meadows, Norton, Ardbennie, Blue Ridge along Mutoko Road, among others, and some had visited lawyers with him to initialise the selling processes.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Police also interviewed his girlfriend, Agnes Mandiyenga (23), who said she had known Sibanda since November 2024 and they had been staying together at a garage along Willowvale Road.
During that period, Sibanda only gave her US$20 cash for all their household needs.
Sibanda later admitted that he was never robbed and did not own any mine or a car and was using the false reports to get sympathy from people, especially businesspeople, so that they would give him money.
