HARARE- A maid and gardener from Borrowdale, Harare, accused of pulling off a daring US$80,000 heist from their employer’s home, have been locked up pending bail.
Sarah Matemarunda, 59, and Milton Mudimu allegedly tore a digital safe from businessman Gift Mzilikazi’s bedroom wall and vanished with cash, ammunition, and passports.
The duo appeared before Harare magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzayi at the weekend, but their bail ruling was pushed to Wednesday due to a case backlog.
Mzilikazi had left for his farm, only to return the next day to find his bedroom door open and his safe missing. Stashed inside was US$80,400, R4,000, 300 Yuan, 200 Dirhams, 100 Rupees, £30, bullets, and travel papers.
Police later recovered the abandoned safe in the boot of Mzilikazi’s son’s car, with only passports and ammunition left inside.
Detectives closed in on Matemarunda, who allegedly hid part of the loot in her wardrobe.
She handed over US$12,391, R1,360, £10, 50 Rupees, 5 Dirhams, and 100 Yuan before fingering Mudimu as her accomplice.
Mudimu was later nabbed across the Limpopo after allegedly sneaking into South Africa illegally.
He, however, pointed fingers back at Matemarunda and claimed Mzilikazi’s relatives near the border had assisted in the heist.
