Highway robbers to rot in prison after being handed 144-year term

Source: Highway robbers to rot in prison after being handed 144-year term – herald

TWO fairly young lads — Gift Maphosa (36) and Mpokiseng Dube (27) — might have heard the expression “the full wrath of the law” without thinking much of it, but they now definitely know what it means.

The cheeky duo thought they could make a living as prolific highway robbers along the Masvingo-Beitbridge road.

It was the perfect plan, or so they thought.

As a thoroughfare for multitudes going to buy goods from neighbouring South Africa, it made for a potentially lucrative route.

To trap their victims, they blocked the road with stones to force vehicles to stop, after which they would emerge from the shadows and pounce on their victims.

The gun-toting criminals would then rob the victims of cash and valuables.

In one of the robberies, they more than showed their propensity for violence when they shot and injured their victims for resisting.

But, as is always the case, their newly launched criminal enterprise was short-lived.

On February 22 this year, detectives picked up their spoor after receiving information linking Maphosa to a series of robberies along the Masvingo-Beitbridge road.

They tracked and apprehended him.

In keeping with the adage that there is no honour among thieves, Maphosa ratted out Dube.

After being hauled before the Chiredzi Regional Magistrates’ Court, they were convicted on three counts of armed robbery, which occurred between December 13, 2024 and February 22, 2025 in Mwenezi, Masvingo.

By sentencing the duo to 144 years behind bars, the magistrate might as well have locked them up and thrown away the keys.

Barring nothing short of a miracle, Maphosa and Dube might not taste freedom again in their miserable lives.