By Simba Chikanza | A suspected soldier and several armed robbers pounced on a Beitbridge bound Boundary bus last night.
The development was confirmed by local papers, MasvingoMirror and TellZim who revealed the victims are currently hospitalized at Masvingo General Hospital.
While a comment from the local police was awaited at the time of writing, a source cited by ZimEye at the time narrated her ordeal in the following words:
Good morning to you God’s people. I’ve encountered a problem: I came from Bindura last night, and got to Mbudzi at just after 8pm.
I boarded the bus called Boundary from Mbudzi traveling back to Beitbridge. This bus’ operators announced they are going for recess at Mvuma. When they got to Mvuma people got their foods and so forth. After that, while we were inside the bus as we were approaching the tollgate, it emerged there were several armed robbers on the bus, numbering up to 6. They had guns and they had knives; and they redirected the bus into the nearby bush. They kept going to the driver ordering him to turn this way and that way. They were ordering the driver to follow a certain soldier. The bus had traveled a bit into the forest when it was ordered to switch off its lights.
At that point, everyone was searched. We were beaten up. We got sprayed on, on our eyes. We got sprayed from around 1pm. Up to now it is after 2 and our eyes are still itching badly having been sprayed on. Up to now we are still feeling the pain, since others were stabbed.
The armed men were pointing a gun at anyone forcing them to release money.
After that they repeated their search. If you say you don’t have money you will be punished with beatings. It was so difficult today on the 21st June. And these men it seems they began began their plot back in Mbudzi in Harare, where they also got into this bus.
They were also being followed by a small car behind us. When we had turned into the bush, the car that was following us from behind then followed on, it parked outside and these people began searching us. After they began searching they punctured one of the tyres and quickly left.
We then traveled out of the bush. We got up to the tollgate. After leaving the tollgate, 5 km between there and Masvingo, that’s when the bus started moving on its rim; and the driver tried to control the bus. It was now traveling on its rim. Right now we are here where the breakdown happened. We rang the police station; they haven’t responded. There are people here who are bleeding who are still to be checked.