TWO men armed with a rifle and a pistol allegedly stripped a prostitute and her client before robbing the man and raping the woman in Bulawayo’s Old Magwegwe suburb.

The incident happened in the wee hours of Friday morning last week. Police have since arrested the suspects identified as Sydney Dube (43) of Lobengula West and Praymore Mpofu (21) of Cowdray Park.

A source close to the victims said Mr Azizi Sibanda (18) had hired the woman (24) — who cannot be named for ethical reasons — for a night of sex from Izandlazonke Sports Bar in Old Magwegwe.

The woman allegedly took Mr Sibanda to her cousin’s house. “They entered the two roomed house at around 1 AM. The armed men entered the house soon after and threatened to shoot them with a rifle,” said the source.

The source said the robbers ordered Mr Sibanda to strip and they took his clothes, cash and an Iphone 4S. “One of the robbers grabbed the woman and force marched her to a football ground at the nearby Ntshamathe Primary School while his colleague remained guarding the man. He produced a pistol and forced her to strip before raping her twice without protection,” the source said.

The armed robber allegedly returned to the house where he called his partner in crime. The man who had remained in the house, said the source, ransacked it and stole unspecified property. The woman made a police report.

“She said she knew the suspects by their nicknames as Sindo and Mashamplani. She said they were known criminals with a history of violence,” said the source. Police made a follow up and arrested Dube hours later.