Vumbunu Sisters, Accomplice Remanded Over Armed Robbery
Three women, including two sisters of the Vumbunu brothers linked to the notorious US$4 million Ecobank heist, appeared in Bulawayo Regional Court facing armed robbery charges involving US$25,840.
Sekai and Georgina Vumbunu, along with Florence Chisiri, only spoke to confirm their names and the charges. They were remanded in custody until 31 October.
Georgina, who uses a wheelchair, asked for bail, citing young children at home with no one to care for them.
Magistrate Archie Wochiwunga rejected the plea, saying the crime was too serious for bail and advised them to apply at the Bulawayo High Court instead.
The trio is accused of playing a major role in the armed robbery and being part of a wider criminal network in the city.
The State, represented by Nomthandazo Mafu, alleges that the Vumbunu sisters and Chisiri were illegal forex dealers, with Sekai sometimes using the name Edith Dube to hide her identity.
The court heard that on 12 October 2025, the trio allegedly provided information to suspects Nekimiya Dladla (38) and Simon Dube (28).
Armed with guns, Dladla and Dube reportedly intercepted a woman (name withheld) on her way to Mossel House, a flat at the corner of 6th Avenue and Herbert Chitepo Street in Bulawayo.
They allegedly threatened to shoot her before stealing US$1,630. They then ransacked her bedroom, discovering US$23,160 and taking two wedding rings worth US$1,050.
Dladla and Dube are linked to a string of armed robberies, including a raid on Nkolozi Investments, a bureau de change at the CIPF Building, where robbers posing as clients stole US$18,000 and R151,000, and a restaurant robbery in August in which they took US$4,000 and R60,000 from a patron.
Homicide detectives arrested Dladla, who implicated Dube and the Vumbunu sisters, leading to their detention.
The arrests have renewed interest in the notorious Vumbunu family, whose twin brothers Elijah and Abraham, dubbed the “terror twins”, were caught over last year’s US$4 million Ecobank heist.
Raised in Bulawayo’s Mzilikazi suburb, the twins have a long history in organised crime, including car-jacking, gold robberies, and violent home invasions.
Abraham had rejoined Elijah in planning the Ecobank heist just two weeks after being released from a 14-year sentence.
The heist, carried out with “movie-style precision,” saw six armed men overpower Safeguard security guards transporting cash before escaping with the money.
The brothers were later arrested in South Africa by a joint ZRP and SAPS operation and are awaiting extradition. *Chronicle*
