The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has moved to set the record straight amid a swirl of speculation linking popular gospel musician Mambo Dhuterere to a string of armed robberies, confirming that the wanted man bearing the same name is a criminal impostor and not the celebrated singer.

The confusion erupted after police issued a statement naming a suspect known only as “Mambo Dhuterere” among several alleged accomplices still at large in connection with a US$108,000 armed robbery in Ruwa and a series of other heists.

The listing sparked a frenzy on social media, with many mistakenly concluding that the gospel artist, whose real name is Darlington “Mambo Dhuterere” Mutseta, was a fugitive from justice.

National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi wasted no time in pouring cold water on the speculation, telling local radio station ZiFM that the two individuals are entirely different people.

He explained that the suspect being sought is simply a criminal who has been using the musician’s name as an alias.

“It is a criminal using the name Mambo Dhuterere, and it’s not the musician who is wanted,” Nyathi said, drawing a clear line between the acclaimed gospel star and the unidentified suspect.

The clarification came as a relief to fans of the musician, who had watched with alarm as his name trended alongside details of violent robberies.

Mutseta himself appeared to treat the bizarre mix-up with good humour, taking to Facebook to joke that he might be forced to adopt a new stage name because so many people were now calling themselves Mambo Dhuterere.

“There are now too many people using this name. I may have to change it—there are now even Mambo Dhutereres involved in crime,” he wrote in a post that loosely translated his Shona remarks.

The singer’s light-hearted response was reinforced by his public appearance at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s birthday celebrations in Mvurwi on Tuesday the same day the police statement naming the wanted suspects was circulating.

His attendance at the high-profile event appeared designed to dispel any lingering doubts about his whereabouts or his innocence.

However, while the musician’s public appearance and the police spokesperson’s remarks strongly suggested his name had been dragged into the case in error, police had not issued a formal statement clearing him or identifying the wanted “Mambo Dhuterere” by another name at the time of publication.

The police notice should therefore not be interpreted as confirmation that the gospel singer is a suspect.

Meanwhile, police revealed that they had arrested three suspects in connection with the robberies.

Tinei Makaripe, 47, Pungurayi Mukumbachaza and Gabriel Mukambachaza, 41, were apprehended in connection with armed robberies committed in Ruwa, Rusape and Harare.

Their alleged accomplices were identified only as Khule Diva, Mambo Dhuterere, Kasongo and Senior Gama.

According to police information, the gang allegedly raided a company at Borders Estate in Ruwa at around 12.30am on September 13, attacking and restraining workers before escaping with US$108,000 in cash.

Makaripe was reportedly apprehended by employees after falling while attempting to scale the company’s perimeter wall during the escape.

Detectives later arrested Pungurayi Mukumbachaza in Damofalls Phase 1, Harare, where US$4,900 was allegedly found hidden inside his vehicle, while Gabriel Mukambachaza was arrested at his rural home in Rusape, where police said they recovered US$5,000, two pistols, ammunition, handcuffs, fuse cables, explosives and three balaclavas.

Police further alleged that a Tokarev pistol recovered during the arrests was stolen from a steel company in Southerton, Harare, during an armed robbery on March 12.

The detained suspects are being linked to four other robberies, including a January 26 attack on a beverages company in Rusape, where robbers allegedly escaped with US$39,828, a loaded Star pistol, pepper spray, handcuffs and three mobile phones.

Another US$14,118 was allegedly stolen from a steel company along Tilbury Road in Southerton on March 12.

The three specifically detailed robberies involved at least US$161,946, although police said investigations into additional cases and the search for the remaining suspects, including the man using the name Mambo Dhuterere, were continuing.