No further report on the search for Albert Ncube has appeared in the Rhodesia Herald since the end of January. Ncube (26) confessed before the Bulawayo Magistrates Court on 31 December 1976 to a whole series of guerilla offences including the murder of Bishop Adolph Schmitt and two other missionaries at Lupane on 5 December. A few days later he was reported to have "escaped" from police custody at Victoria Falls. A spokesman for the Ministry of Law and Order confirmed on 27 January that the circumstances of Ncube's escape were being investigated but that it was not yet known whether the findings would be made public.
On 11 February, two people described as Ncube's mother and stepfather, were sentenced to prison terms by a Special Court in Bulawayo on conviction of harbouring and providing food and accommodation to their son and failing to report his presence. SARAH MOYO, sentenced to 3 years imprisonment, and SAITI PHIRI, sentenced to 7 years, were alleged in addition to have concealed Ncube's AK rifle, ammunition, hand grenades and clothing by burying them in the grounds of their home in Mabutweni Township, Bulawayo. Moyo, Phiri and Ncube, the Special Court heard, were arrested when police raided the home at 2.15 a.m. on 31 December 1976.
