H-Metro
Talent Gore, H-Metro Reporter
The shooting to death of three robbers at residence of former CID detective Joseph Nemaisa on Monday night, has left neighbours traumatised.
Neighbours of the family that was held hostage by five armed robbers at gun point described the whole experience as traumatic.
The family was rescued by the father of the house, Harare lawyer and former CID detective Nemaisa, who gunned down three of the five robbers in a fierce exchange.
The window through which the robbers escaped
Nemaisa had been tipped by his son Courage, 18, that the family was being held hostage.
A neighbour who preferred anonymity said it was just a normal evening night for them.
“We did not have electricity for the greater part up until around 8-9pm,” said the neighbour.
“We were just sitting in the lounge about to retreat to bed when we suddenly heard a loud sound.
“At first we thought they were fireworks since it’s the festive season, we were ready to take pictures of the fireworks through our windows.
“We all went to look through the window to see the fireworks but to our surprise there was nothing.
The neighbour said when they realised that the ordeal happened at Nemaisa’s house they were not surprised.
“When we then woke up and heard about what happened we were not surprised that it was Nemaisa because everyone who lives in this area knows about him and about what he does,” the neighbour said.
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The neighbour said knowing that there was a shooting in the neighbourhood was scary for them.
“It’s scary, it’s not something that happens everyday so we are bound to be scared,” said neighbour.
“Now we cannot help but think, what if it happens again? What if the robbers come back and cause havoc in this neighbourhood?”
“The fact that now we know that there was shooting going on, it’s even more terrifying.
Another witness who only identified himself as Stavo, who sells gas close to Nemaisa’s house, said the moment he heard the first shot he ran for his life.
“I was packing my stuff ready to go home when suddenly I heard bullet sounds,” he said.
“I didn’t know where exactly this was happening so I just left everything there and ran for my life.
“You know how it is to run away from something that you are not even sure of where it is coming from.
“I got home tired and I couldn’t tell people at home why I was running and where my stuff was. I was in shock.”
Stavo jokingly said the matter was now laughable but during the ordeal the only thing he could do was run for his life.
