HARARE- Armed robbers hijacked a US$70,000 Isuzu belonging to Senator Prisca Mupfumira in Harare’s Avondale West suburb on Monday, forcing her driver out at gunpoint before dumping him along Mutoko Road.

Two men wielding pistols ambushed the royal blue double cab vehicle at 7:00 AM GMT+2 while Mupfumira’s driver, Edmore Mashasha, waited outside a tailor’s shop on Ascot Road.

The assailants ordered Mashasha out of the driver’s seat at gunpoint. They blindfolded him, bound his hands, and forced him into the back seat before speeding away.

“The driver was conducting a routine errand to collect church uniforms when the incident occurred,” police said in a statement confirming the theft.

Mashasha managed to free himself after the hijackers abandoned him along Mutoko Road. A passerby provided him with a phone to contact the senator.

The Criminal Investigation Department’s Vehicle Theft Squad is leading investigations into the theft of the Isuzu double cab, registered as AGA 6969.

The incident marks the latest in a string of armed vehicle thefts targeting prominent figures in Zimbabwe’s capital. Police have urged drivers to remain vigilant, particularly during early morning hours.

Mupfumira, who represents Mashonaland West in the Senate, previously served as a cabinet minister before leaving office in 2019.