6 Gobabis bank heist suspects in court

SIX men accused of robbing the Gobabis branch of Standard Bank Namibia last week appeared before Magistrate Johannes Shuuveni in the Gobabis Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

The six – according to the court record, five are Zimbabwean nationals and another is South African – were ordered to remain in Police custody until their next court appearance. They face a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances.They were arrested after Standard Bank Namibia’s Gobabis branch found itself the target of a gang of alleged armed robbers shortly after opening its doors for business on Tuesday last week.Sources at the bank told The Namibian last week that three suspected robbers entered the bank shortly before 09h00.They allegedly pulled out firearms, ordered people to lie down on the floor, and ordered bank clerks to hand over cash to them.A fourth suspect was reportedly waiting outside the bank in a getaway car.According to Standard Bank Namibia, the alleged robbers managed to get away with N$202 066 in cash.One of the six charged men was arrested at the Buitepos border post on the Botswana border east of Gobabis within two hours of the alleged robbery.He is claimed to have been driving the getaway car.The other suspects were reportedly arrested in Botswana during Tuesday and early on Wednesday after they had crossed the border illegally, it is claimed.The Botswana authorities thereafter handed them over to their Namibian counterparts, who arrested them.Just over N$174 000 of the stolen money was recovered in the process, according to the bank.The six men who appeared in court yesterday are Noabutho Oscar Mdluli (29), who is reflected on the court record as being a South African living in Johannesburg, and Zimbabwean nationals Neshias Matole (33), Itai Mashamba (31), Plan Ndebele (31), Rameck Madaraoze (36) and Mthulishi Sibanda (27).On the court record all five Zimbabweans’ home addresses are stated to be in Bulawayo.Public Prosecutor Conchita Olivier asked Magistrate Shuuveni to postpone the case against the six to July 18 for further investigations.The alleged robbery at the Gobabis branch was the fourth time a branch of Standard Bank Namibia has been targeted within little more than two months.They face a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances.They were arrested after Standard Bank Namibia’s Gobabis branch found itself the target of a gang of alleged armed robbers shortly after opening its doors for business on Tuesday last week.Sources at the bank told The Namibian last week that three suspected robbers entered the bank shortly before 09h00.They allegedly pulled out firearms, ordered people to lie down on the floor, and ordered bank clerks to hand over cash to them.A fourth suspect was reportedly waiting outside the bank in a getaway car.According to Standard Bank Namibia, the alleged robbers managed to get away with N$202 066 in cash.One of the six charged men was arrested at the Buitepos border post on the Botswana border east of Gobabis within two hours of the alleged robbery.He is claimed to have been driving the getaway car.The other suspects were reportedly arrested in Botswana during Tuesday and early on Wednesday after they had crossed the border illegally, it is claimed.The Botswana authorities thereafter handed them over to their Namibian counterparts, who arrested them.Just over N$174 000 of the stolen money was recovered in the process, according to the bank.The six men who appeared in court yesterday are Noabutho Oscar Mdluli (29), who is reflected on the court record as being a South African living in Johannesburg, and Zimbabwean nationals Neshias Matole (33), Itai Mashamba (31), Plan Ndebele (31), Rameck Madaraoze (36) and Mthulishi Sibanda (27).On the court record all five Zimbabweans’ home addresses are stated to be in Bulawayo.Public Prosecutor Conchita Olivier asked Magistrate Shuuveni to postpone the case against the six to July 18 for further investigations.The alleged robbery at the Gobabis branch was the fourth time a branch of Standard Bank Namibia has been targeted within little more than two months.