Witness Testifies in ABC Auctions’ $1 Million Robbery Case
Today, the trial continued for two suspected armed robbers, Phebion Nyuke and Osinege Zvomuya, accused of stealing cash and jewelry valued at over US$1.2 million from ABC Auctions. The State called Mrs. Shylo Keth as a witness.
Mrs. Keth, who serves as the Finance Manager at ABC Auctions, testified that the stolen money was kept in three safes. According to her, the robbers used explosives to open the safes since they were locked.
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Mrs. Keth mentioned detecting the smell of explosives when she arrived at the crime scene.
She explained that ABC Auctions faced challenges due to the robbery, leading to the retrenchment of some employees, especially because a significant portion of the stolen money belonged to creditors.
During cross-examination by Nyuke’s lawyer, Joseph Nemaisa, Mrs. Keth admitted there was no documentation proving the ownership of jewelry before the robbery. When asked about evidence supporting the value of the stolen jewelry, she responded in the negative. Mr. Nemaisa argued that, aside from Mrs. Keth’s statement, there was nothing proving the claimed amount of jewelry before the incident.
Mr. Nemaisa also questioned Mrs. Keth on her inability to specify the number of stolen jewelry items and highlighted her formal statement to the police after the recovery of some pieces.
Professor Lovemore Madhuku, representing Zvomuya, continued the cross-examination, questioning Mrs. Keth on why only a few pieces of jewelry were presented in court as exhibits. Mrs. Keth suggested that the remaining items were still in the possession of the CID.
Mr. Madhuku clarified if Mrs. Keth was in court due to a robbery, to which she affirmed, emphasizing that it did not necessarily implicate the accused persons in the dock.
