PROMINENT businessman Joseph Mutangadura has been shot dead at his Lisheen Estate farmhouse in Ruwa by suspected robbers.

Mutangadura was the owner of Lisheen Estate, the well-known Mutangadura Hideout, a chain of butcheries and several other businesses.

In a statement Monday, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson Paul Nyathi said seven armed robbers who were in balaclavas attacked a security guard and the businessman's son before breaking into the farmhouse, shooting Mutangadura in the stomach.

"Seven unknown suspects, who were armed with unidentified pistols, claw bars and hammers, while covering their faces with balaclavas, pounced at the business premises where they attacked the security guard who was securing the premises.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

"They tied his hands with shoe laces and took him to the victim's house, where they broke into the house through the door, using metal bars.

"The suspects forced the security guard and the victim's son to lie down in the dining room while proceeding to the room where the victim was sleeping with his wife. The suspects shot the victim on the stomach and ransacked the house before leaving," Nyathi said.

His wife was also found unconscious during the time they were rushed to the hospital and is alive.

Mutangadura's son Munyaradzi said the incident happened in the early hours of Monday.

"My little sister called me around midnight, informing me to rush home as they heard gunshots.

"The robbers came in through the perimeter wall, and they broke the sitting room door and they headed straight to his bedroom, where they shot him and later turned the room upside down looking for money.

"We found him lying down unconscious and immediately took him to the hospital, where he was declared dead," he said.

The details and value of the stolen property are yet to be verified.