Story by Fungai Jachi, Courts Reporter
A Harare man, Richard Tafadzwa Marondera has been jailed 10 years for attempting to escape from lawful custody, while armed with a revolver nearly three weeks ago.
Marondera, who was sentenced this Wednesday, made headlines after he attempted to escape from the Harare Magistrates Court on 21 March.
His accomplice, Luke Zinyengere is still standing trial for masterminding a movie-style but short-lived escape, while also armed on the same day.
The two have several pending armed robbery cases.
In passing sentence, the court considered that the offense was premeditated and that prison officers were traumatised when they were threatened with a firearm.
The State proved that early last month, the two devised a plan to escape from prison and they engaged a prison warden, Donald Madzinga and shared their plan with him.
This resultantly led Zinyengere’s young brother Tinotenda, to allegedly bring the revolver concealed in a bowl of rice which the accused accessed and kept in their cell.
The court found that Marondera took the revolver, hid it in the pants and went to Harare Magistrate Court where he appeared in court 12 together with Zinyengere.
When the pair was being escorted back into the prison truck to be taken back to Harare Remand Prison, they sprang up, produced the revolver, threatened prison officers and ran away towards Mother Patrick Road, where they scaled over the court’s palisade fencing.
Shots were fired from both sides and during the chase, Marondera was tripped down by a prison officer and that is how he got arrested.
The court heard that Zinyengere managed to escape and robbed Tinashe Chiyamuro of his vehicle and phones and he went away.
Zinyengere was later arrested a few days after his escape in Ruwa following a tip-off.
