TWO Bulawayo brothers who were savagely tortured before being executed in South Africa recently were yesterday buried on the outskirts of Bulawayo as police in the neighbouring country announced that one person had been arrested in connection with their deaths.

Sydney (41) and Edmore Gwatsvaira (37), who had changed their surname to Ncube, are said to have been running a flourishing transport company which operated buses and trucks in South Africa.

They were buried yesterday at Umvutshwa Private Cemetery.
However, new details emerged yesterday that before engaging in legitimate businesses they were hard-core criminals and were arrested locally for armed robbery and carjacking.

The brothers were reportedly kidnapped by unknown assailants almost a month ago in Johannesburg before their bodies were dumped in Mpumalanga. The bodies were found nearly two weeks ago.

The Chronicle news visited their family residence in West Somerton suburb yesterday afternoon with the intention of speaking to their relatives as information regarding their death remains sketchy.

Their brother who only identified himself as Mr Washington, also based in South Africa, declined to comment on circumstances leading to his siblings death.

“I can’t speak to you at the moment. I guess no one else would. What you can do is take my WhatsApp number and send me a message later during the week maybe
I will be able to respond to your questions,” said Mr Washington, who was putting on a T-shirt with an inscription “RIP Game Changer.”

The T-shirt has a photograph of the duo.
Several other people were also wearing similar T-shirts and most of the mourners were from an apostolic sect.

A neighbour who declined to be named said as residents who knew the family they are shocked that the pair was considered as businessmen and not in jail.

“We know that the two brothers are well known criminals in the country who were involved in serious crimes. We thought that they are supposed to be in jail but we got shocked to learn that they were in South Africa.

“They were once arrested for armed robbery and carjacking crimes.
Maybe their death is related to their past life or what they were doing,” said the neighbour.

Sydney was, sometime in October 2003, arrested together with Gilson Mutembedza, Leroy Pita and Neil Charles for allegedly stealing a Mitsubishi Pajero in Harare.

Mutembedza had around the same time allegedly been involved in a P672 164 robbery of the Bank of Baroda in Gaborone.

In July 2012, Sydney, said to be 40 at the time, was arrested at a prayer session in Marondera and fined $100 for entering the country using a passport bearing a Mozambican national’s name. He was sentenced to the fine or two months in prison for entering the country illegally and using a fake travel document.
The passport had the name Fernando Paulo Mula and Sydney’s photograph.State media