Man, 48, Stripped Naked In Midnight Mushikashika Robbery

A 48-year-old man from Chitate Village in Domboshava was stripped and dumped naked after being robbed in a pirate taxi along Glenara Avenue in Harare.

Onai Murovanidzwa had boarded a red Honda Fit, a mushikashika, at about midnight at the corner of Simon Muzenda Street and Robert Mugabe Road. He was heading home to Domboshava.

Police said there were three men in the car, including the driver, all pretending to be passengers. Murovanidzwa sat in the back with one of them.

During the trip, one of the men pulled out a knife and began assaulting him. He was ordered to hand over his valuables and forced to lie face down so he could not see where they were going.

The men searched him and took US$200 in cash, a small Nokia phone, and a green satchel containing a fleece blanket and clothes. They then stripped him naked and left him by the roadside before driving off towards Chisipite.

Well-wishers later gave him clothes. Murovanidzwa suffered a cut to his upper lip, a swollen left eye and pain all over his body. He was taken to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals for treatment.

He told police he had been working in Chipinge thatching houses. His bus broke down, and he was transferred to another one in Mutare, which meant he arrived in Harare late at night.

Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector Luckmore Chakanza confirmed the robbery and warned the public against travelling at night.

He also warned against boarding private vehicles driven by people whom the passengers do not know.