9-year jail term for armed parlour robber
A Cowdray Park man and his accomplices, who robbed Kings and Queens Funeral Parlour at gunpoint, has been sentenced to an effective nine years in prison.
Clifford Desmond Nare was convicted of armed robbery by Bulawayo regional magistrate Lungile Ncube in terms of section 126(1) as read with section 126(3)(a)(b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment, with two years suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour. A further one year was suspended on condition that he restitutes the complainant, leaving him with an effective nine-year jail term.
The court heard that on February 1, 2025, at around 11.30pm, Nare and his accomplices — Cordias Nkomo, who is still at large, and Sipho Ncube and Dumisani Ndlovu, who are now deceased — targeted Kings and Queens Funeral Services in Kelvin North, Bulawayo.
Nare was armed with a pistol and a sword, while his accomplices were also carrying firearms.
The gang gained entry through a broken precast wall and confronted security guards — Stanford Dube and Xolisani Ncube — in the guardroom. Nare struck Dube above the right eye with the butt of a pistol, causing serious bleeding.
The guards were dragged to the backyard, ordered to lie down and tied with shoelaces.
The accused then forced open the cash office and strongroom, and stole US$3 608, R1 130 and a Huawei Y62 cellphone valued at US$110.
As the gang fled, it smashed the quarter glass of a blue Honda Fit and stole a car battery worth US$80.
Police investigations led to Nare’s arrest and the recovery of the firearm and cellphone.
Southern eye
