HARARE – Three men who were arrested last week on allegations of murdering a Bulawayo police officer are being investigated for 50 armed robbery cases which occurred in the country’s second largest city and its surrounding areas since April last year.
Albert Munangati, 26, Clifford Desmond Nare, 33, and Thabo Dube, 24, were seized last week in a dramatic police operation that saw two of their colleagues killed in a shootout with detectives.
They are prime suspects in the callous killing of Sergeant Abel Masava, who was shot dead aged 43 in Sizinda, Bulawayo on March 28, 2025.
The slain police officer was shot in cold blood after stopping five men he had observed walking suspiciously in Sizinda suburb midnight.
Masaya had gone out to attend a domestic violence incident in the high density suburb when he got fatally shot after solely confronting the suspects as he waited in the car outside a home where he had accompanied his colleagues to resolve the domestic quarrel.
Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the firearm used to kill Masaya was recovered from the suspects who are also linked to a spate of armed robbery cases which occurred in Bulawayo between 22 April 2024 and 28 March 2025.
In an update on Monday, Nyathi said the suspects were being linked to 50 armed robbery crimes committed in and around Bulawayo in the period.
“In total, the suspects are clearing 50 armed robbery cases, including a case which occurred on 10 April 2024 at Fundisi Mine, Umguza where US$2,704 cash was stolen after the complainant had been attacked by the suspects who were armed with pistols, knives and wooden sticks, and another robbery case which occurred on 15 March 2025 at a fuel service station in Cowdray Park, Bulawayo where ZAR186,000 was stolen,” Nyathi said.
The police spokesperson urged the public to continue volunteering some information to assist with their investigations.
