Man Acquitted After 10 Years for Role in US$2.7 Mi...

Man Acquitted After 10 Years for Role in US$2.7 Million ZB Bank Heist

Zim Now Writer

A man jailed for 10 years for his alleged involvement in the US$2.7 million ZB Bank highway cash heist in 2021 has been acquitted by the High Court.

Tendai Zuze, convicted and sentenced in September 2023 alongside Never Mwamuka and ZB Bank employee Shadreck Njowa—the heist's alleged mastermind—has been cleared of all charges.

The robbery, which took place on the Harare-Chinhoyi highway near Nyabira, remains Zimbabwe's largest cash heist to date.

High Court judges Happias Zhou and Benjamin Chikowero ruled that the prosecution failed to present concrete evidence linking Zuze to the crime. The judges highlighted that the case against Zuze relied solely on circumstantial evidence, which they deemed insufficient.

They stated: “Suspicion is not evidence. The trial court grossly erred in predicating the conviction on circumstantial evidence while ignoring direct exculpatory evidence.”

The prosecution argued that Zuze’s actions raised suspicion. They noted:

He was found with US$35 000 in cash at the time of his arrest.

He purchased a Honda Fit vehicle two days after the robbery.

He drove through the Nyabira tollgate in a Toyota Lexus shortly before the robbery.

Mobile phone records placed him near the crime scene.

However, the High Court pointed out a critical flaw in the prosecution's case—ZB Bank had failed to record the serial numbers of the stolen banknotes. Without this, it was impossible to prove that the recovered cash was linked to the heist.

Zuze maintained his innocence, explaining that the US$10,000 of the cash belonged to his wife’s Stokvel group.

The remaining amount was income from his small-scale mining activities.

This explanation was not disputed during the trial. The High Court emphasized that the burden of proof rested with the prosecution, which failed to establish Zuze's guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The judges concluded: “It was not for the appellant to prove his innocence. The onus remained on the state to prove guilt, which it failed to do. The appeal is allowed, the conviction is quashed, and the sentence is set aside.”