A gun-toting man who came at full speed to a house in Makokoba suburb and forced himself inside pointing a pistol at a teenage girl before hiding behind a wardrobe was later arrested after he robbed the family of a T-shirt worth US$5.
This was heard when Dingani Mpofu (44) appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga facing a robbery charge.
He pleaded not guilty and he was remanded in custody to Thursday next week.
For the State, Costance Matha told the court that when he forced himself into the house Mpofu claimed he was being chased after by people who wanted to kill him.
While he was at the gate he reportedly shouted: “I will shoot you, open the gate. They want to kill me.”
But the girl never opened the gate for him, the court heard.
He, however, jumped over the gate into the yard.
The girl reportedly tried to lock herself inside the house but Mpofu quickly opened the door and when he got inside the house he headed to the bedroom.
It is said while in the bedroom he hid behind a wardrobe and claimed that there were people who wanted to kill him.
He spent several hours crouching behind the wardrobe.
After the noise had subdued he then pointed the pistol at the owner of the house and her child and demanded a T-shirt.
The house owner surrendered it to him and in the process he left his jacket. The woman reported the incident to the police and investigations led to the arrest of Mpofu.
