A 39-year-old Bulawayo man has appeared in court facing three counts of armed robbery after he and his alleged accomplices raided two companies and a private residence in Harare between June and July 2026, stealing cash, safes, vehicles and other property valued at more than US$550 000.

Tendai Nzvenga, 39, of Bulawayo, appeared before the Harare Magistrates' Court charged with three counts of robbery as defined in Section 126 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act.

The State, led by Loveti Muringwa, alleges that the first incident occurred on June 29, 2026, at around 2200 hours when complainant Sekeni Manyunguvadzi was asleep in his cottage with his wife and children.

It is alleged that Nzvenga and his accomplices, wearing balaclavas and armed with two pistols, jumped over the precast wall and entered the yard.

They allegedly went to the cottage, pointed a pistol at Manyunguvadzi through his bedroom window, manhandled him and force-marched him to the offices, where they forced open the main door and ordered him to lie down in the General Secretary's office.

The court heard that they broke into the storeroom and stole a Chubb safe containing US$5 000 cash, three motor vehicle keys, four vehicle registration books, a panic button and a title deed in the name of Samuel Gray.

They allegedly loaded the safe into the complainant's cart and fled, dumping the cart along Smit Crescent, about 200 metres away.

Police from ZRP Epworth recovered the safe, which had been dumped in Epworth, on July 2, 2026. All its contents were recovered except the cash.

The total value stolen in that incident was US$7 422, with property valued at US$2 422 recovered.

Two days later, on July 1, 2026, at around 2200 hours, Nzvenga and his accomplices allegedly struck at N Richards Granite Side in Harare while armed with rifles and pistols.

The court heard that complainant Silon Chaparadza, 32, a security guard employed by Fawcett Security Company, was on night duty, while Mark Arumero, 44, was resting in his truck at the receiving bay, awaiting to offload goods the following day.

It is alleged that the accused and his accomplices manhandled Chaparadza, ordered him to sit down and remove his Fawcett jacket and cap before tying his hands with shoelaces.

They also allegedly manhandled Arumero, force-marched him to where Chaparadza was, tied his hands and legs with pieces of cloth and covered his head with a work-suit jacket.

One of the accused allegedly remained behind to guard the two men while the others used explosives to blow open the safe in the cash office.

They allegedly stole US$39 888, ZWG74 270, R750, as well as various whiskies and soft drinks before escaping in their getaway vehicle.

Police who attended the scene recovered 14 223mm live cartridges, 21 7.62x39mm live cartridges, damaged cartridges and capped fuses. Nothing was recovered from the raid.

The third and largest raid allegedly occurred on July 20, 2026, at around 2100 hours at Heliconvest Company Private Limited, 973 Nursery Road, Mt Pleasant, Harare.

It is alleged that Nzvenga and his accomplices, armed with AK rifles and pistols, scaled the durawall and went to the guardroom, where they manhandled security guards Blessed Mwanawezayo, Willm Socha and Kudzai Mapanzure.

They also allegedly confronted Ryan Bangajena, who was seated in a Honda Fit, registration number AEV 9517, and stole US$10 from him.

The group allegedly proceeded to the offices, where they manhandled and searched several employees, stealing US$200 from Cheng Zeng Guo, US$110 from You Zhonglian, US$200 from Hu Rile's drawer, US$60 and £200 from Liu Dan's handbag, US$1 550 from Qiao Lei, US$280 from Liang Yong Bing, US$1 500 from Ji Zehang, US$314 from Shi Jin Lian and US$90 from Sydney Mufuka.

They also allegedly manhandled Tadiwanashe Svova, Tadiwanashe Dube and Amanda Chinho, who had arrived from Bulawayo in a Toyota Hilux, registration number AGO 7110.

The court heard that the accused and his accomplices ransacked the premises and stole three headphones, a 1TB USB flash drive, 100 Macao dollars, a Reno 12 Oppo phone belonging to Liu Dan, a Patek Philippe wristwatch valued at US$50 000 belonging to Guo Zhonglian, keys to all company vehicles and the CCTV DVR from the guardroom.

They allegedly located a safe containing US$377 694 and 11 mining certificates in the main bedroom on the first floor, loaded it into the Toyota Hilux and drove away.

On July 22, 2026, the Toyota Hilux was recovered abandoned along Harare Drive in Mandara, opposite a ZAOGA church.

On August 22, 2026, Dingani Mpofu was arrested in connection with the case and allegedly implicated Nzvenga. Property valued at US$87 000, including the Toyota Hilux and a Mazda Bongo, was recovered.

The total value stolen in the third incident was US$507 078.

Nzvenga was arrested on September 30, 2026, and allegedly made voluntary indications to the police showing how the offences were committed.

He was remanded in custody to October 16, 2026, for further management.