HARARE – A Bindura-based lawyer, Elatone Bonongwe, has been sentenced to an effective 15 years in prison after being convicted of masterminding a violent robbery at the Mt Darwin home of Pfura Rural District Council engineer Emson Chitsungo in October 2023.
High Court judge Justice Pisirayi Kwenda on Monday handed down a 20-year sentence following a full trial, with five years suspended on condition Bonongwe does not reoffend within five years.
Bonongwe, 57, was convicted alongside five co-accused — Musa Gandi, Agnes Kunaka, Terrence Musingwimi, Justin James and Tafadzwa Obrey Chipashu — for planning and executing the attack.
The gang, armed with an AK-47, a bayonet and iron rods, ransacked Chitsungo’s residence, stealing cash and electronics valued at US$30,000.
Chitsungo sustained a broken arm and injuries to his feet during the attack.
The court found that Bonongwe identified the victim’s home and directed his accomplices, and noted that his abuse of his professional standing as a lawyer had compounded the seriousness of the offence.
