A group of robbers struck at a Mukuru branch in Rutenga Growth Point near Masvingo and managed to get away with over US$10 000 in cash after forcing an employee to open a safe a gunpoint. The two, as yet unknown, robbers also stole from $40 000 ZWL and US$2 000 from a nearby N&R store and cellphones from people who had come to collect their money before making good their escape.

The robbers are suspected to have escaped in a Toyota Probox vehicle that did not have any plates. According to the police, this vehicle fits the description of a Toyota Probox that was stolen in a robbery last month when the driver was shot and seriously injured by robbers.

Fintech businesses now targets

Remittances are important to Zimbabwe with the country receiving hundreds of millions of dollars each quarter through remittances. Mukuru is one company that has ridden this remittances wave. They have the most number of branches in the country and recipients are guaranteed to get cash in USD or sometimes in Rands depending on the option chosen by the sender.

This makes them easy targets as the robbers know that these fintech companies have a lot of cash in hand. Not so long ago guards tasked with making a Mukuru cash delivery to Gokwe disappeared with over US$200 000. ZB Bank employees also connived with each other to stage the largest heist the country has ever seen.

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