A Bulawayo man who allegedly hired two bouncers to tie a man to the back of his car before dragging him mercilessly for some distance after accusing him of cloning his debit card has been arrested.
Walter Runganga (41) from Hillside suburb allegedly kidnapped Joel Mudyanevana (30) before he tied him with a rope on the waist and at the back of his vehicle and dragged him on a tarred road.
As a result of the of the gruesome act, Mudyanevana was left in a critical state. His body was bruised, and his skin peeled as it scraped against the tarred road.
Runganga has since appeared in court charged with kidnapping as defined in Section 93 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:26.
He was not asked to plead and was remanded out of custody to March 10 on $10 000 bail.
His two accomplices are reportedly still on the run.
Circumstances are that on 18 February at around 8pm, Mudyanevana, who was drinking beer at a bar situated along
Robert Mugabe Way between 10th and 11th Avenues, was approached by Runganga and his two accomplices who are still at large.
They forced him into their parked car, a Honda CRV with an unknown South African registration number.
After forcing him inside the car, Runganga then locked the doors and drove towards Victoria Falls Road while accusing Mudyanevana of cloning his card and stealing his money amounting to $100 000.
Runganga is alleged to have stopped the vehicle and forced the complainant out before he hit him once on the head with an empty beer bottle.
Runganga’s accomplices, who are still at large, then took the complainant’s Huawei cell phone P8 Lite and US$500 and went on to tie him with a rope on the waist.
After tying him on the waist they went on to tie the rope at the back of the vehicle and dragged Mudyanevana for about 60 metres on the tarred road.
It is reported that while being dragged, the rope broke and Mudyanevana exploited the opportunity when he staggered and hid in the nearby bush. They tried to go after him, but failed to locate him.
Mudyanevana later got assistance from a passerby who handed him over to the police
The value of his property is US$680 and nothing was recovered. Investigations by the police later led to the arrest of Runganga and his subsequent appearance in court.
