60 YEARS FOR ENTUMBANE MACHETE GANG
Dalyn Chigwizura
A Ruthless gang that terrorised Entumbane residents with axes and machetes has finally been chopped down by justice.
Leeroy Sibanda (19) of Mzilikazi, Nkosilathi Dhlamini (25) of Nkulumane and Ntandoyenkosi Nyoni (35) of Cowdray Park will spend the next two decades each, behind bars after they were convicted of two counts of armed robbery.
The trio, feared in the streets and nicknamed the “Machete Gang,” was sentenced to a combined 60 years, with each getting 20 years. Four years were suspended on condition of good behaviour. However, if they step out of line, those years snap back on like handcuffs.
The Western Commonage court heard hair-raising details of how the gang operated along the Entumbane railway line, turning the area into a hunting ground.
On April 24, around 6 PM, Kenneth Ncube (45) and his friend Vusani Sibanda were collecting cow dung when they encountered the trio. Rather than pass peacefully, Leeroy and Nkosilathi pulled out an axe and machete, attacking Ncube and forcing him to sit on the tracks.
Vusani tried to flee but was cornered by Ntandoyenkosi and ordered to sit. Ncube was robbed of his shoes, belt, jacket, and phone. As he tried to resist, he was struck again and his right hand now permanently paralysed.
Vusani was also beaten senseless with an axe handle and lost his clothes and phone. The robbers vanished into the twilight with loot worth US$125. Not a single item was recovered.
The same gang struck again just 30 minutes earlier, targeting Simbarashe Ndlovu (27).
Ndlovu was walking along the same tracks when the gang asked him for a cigarette. After handing one over, he was viciously attacked, struck on the head and legs, dragged to the side of the railway, and robbed of his Samsung phone,
US$40, R200, a pocket of potatoes and a loaf of bread.
In a shocking twist, the gang threw him across a sewage river like garbage. Ndlovu blacked out and only regained consciousness later, crawling with his elbows in search of help. He now walks with a crutch, his left leg permanently damaged.
Detective work by Constable Lwazilwenkosi Ncube of Entumbane Police cracked the case wide open.
While investigating two robbery reports, he discovered that one of the victims, Simbarashe, personally knew Ntandoyenkosi from their days growing up in Rangemore.
Armed with that lead, Constable Ncube raided Ntandoyenkosi’s home in Cowdray Park, where the suspect was found snoozing in his bedroom. Under his pillow? A black and orange-handled axe, matching the description Simbarashe had given from his hospital bed.
Ntandoyenkosi crumbled under interrogation and named his co-thugs, leading to the arrest of Leeroy and Nkosilathi.
The trio tried to deny the charges, even claiming they only met in prison, but the evidence told a different story.
During sentencing, Magistrate Sibongile Marondedze labelled the trio a danger to society. She said their cruelty was beyond comprehension and declared their jail time as a message to all machete gangs still roaming the streets.
“They were feared in Entumbane and caused pain that can never be undone,” she said. “This is a warning to anyone using weapons to terrorise innocent people. The law will catch you, and you will go away for a long time.”
From railway track thugs to prison block residents, the Machete Gang’s reign of terror is officially over.
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