via Warrant of arrest for cigarette smugglers | The Herald December 28, 2013 by Thupeyo Muleya
A Beitbridge magistrate has issued warrants of arrest for two men who are part of a gang of cigarette smugglers that fatally assaulted a 25-year-old man at Dite along the Limpopo River after accusing him of spying for the South African security forces. Naboth Ndlela (20) of Ngundu in Chivi and Samson Chauke of Tshapfuche area in Beitbridge were early this year arrested together with Antony Mapurisa on murder charges.
The gang operated a smuggling syndicate and stayed on the banks of the Limpopo River.
They were recently granted US$100 bail at the High Court in Bulawayo, but Ndlela and Chauke absconded their routine remand yesterday.
Apart from the bail, Ndlela had been ordered to report twice a week at Matandamaviri Police Station, while Chauke would do the same at Tshapfuche Police Station.
Only Mapurisa turned up in court and was remanded by magistrate Ms Gwineth Drawoto to January 10 for indictment.
Prosecutor Mr Foster Abheki said on May 25, the trio, who, along with Tendai Rwodzi, Thulani Dhlamini and Mickel Shava who are still at large, approached Swetani Ndou at his homestead in Dite on the Zimbabwean side.
They accused him of alerting the South African police and soldiers whenever they were transporting their consignments which would then be intercepted immediately after crossing the Limpopo River.
The group then took him to a secluded area in the bush where they assaulted him using logs for six hours until he collapsed.
They dumped him near his village and fled to South Africa.
A report was made to the police leading to Ndlela, Mapurisa and Chauke’s arrest a week later while they were going about their usual business of smuggling along the Limpopo River.
They were arrested during a police operation code-named “Ibvai Pamuganhu”.
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