HARARE – Armed robbery suspect Tafadzwa Marondera, who made news last week when he combined with his co-accused to execute a daring escape from the hands of their Zimbabwe prisons minders before being rearrested moments later, has exonerated a prison officer charged with facilitating the break.
Marondera told Harare magistrate Fadzai Mthombeni following his arrest for attempting the escape that it was his own plot and the guard, Donald Madzinga had nothing to do with it.
His co-accused, Luke Zinyengere appeared separately before the same magistrate and has an additional charge of armed robbery.
The state alleges that after escaping from custody, Zinyengere robbed a motorist of his Mazda Demio at gun point and used it to escape before dumping it in the Harare CBD.
Zinyengere’s relatives, Obey Rwaendepi, Spelled Zinyengere and Tinotenda Zinyengere also appeared before a different magistrate, Isheanesu Mayova who granted them US$200 bail each for allegedly aiding the escape.
Marondera and Zinyengere partially pleaded guilty to the allegations.
They however said they used a toy gun to commit the offence.
According to the State, sometime early this month, the accused person and another inmate facing similar charges applied for bail at the High Court and it was dismissed.
“The accused person looked for an option to escape from prison. In pursuance to their plan, Marondera and Zinyengere approached prison officer Madzinga whom they usually interface with and shared with him their plan in which they needed his assistance to smuggle in for them into Harare Remand Prison.
“This resultantly led to Zinyengere’s young brother, Tinotenda to bring the revolver concealed in a bowl of rice which the accused accessed and kept in their cell.
“On 21 March 2025, the accused hatched a plan to escape from the lawful custody of prison officials using the revolver which they kept in their prison cell. Accused took the revolver, hid it in the pants and went to Harare magistrate court where he appeared in Court 12 together with his accomplice.
“As the accused persons were being escorted back into the prison truck in order to be taken back to Harare Remand Prison, accused and his accomplice sprang up, produced the revolver, threatened prison officers and ran away towards Mother Patrick Road where they scaled over the court’s palisade fencing. Shots were fired from both sides and during the chase, Marondera was tripped down by a prison office; that is how he got arrested,” the State alleges.
The court heard that Zinyengere managed to escape and robbed Tinashe Chiyamuro of his vehicle and phones and he drove away.
He allegedly drove at high speed towards the Kopje area which is adjacent to the Harare Magistrates’ Court.
The court further heard that the vehicle was later dumped along Kaguvi Street where Zinyengere almost ran into a spare parts shop, he jumped off and disappeared.
It is further alleged that police managed to take fingerprints from the vehicle and on Monday they received a tip-off that Zinyengere had returned from Mutare and wanted to hire a car at George Bus top in Ruwa.
They then tracked and arrested him.
