Three men from Bulawayo have been implicated in the theft of 2,900 liters of diesel from Econet Wireless base stations in the Rangemore suburb and along the Bulawayo/Nkayi Road. They reportedly set up a stall to sell the stolen fuel near the site of the crime.
The suspects—Themba Moyo (55) from Njube, Carlton Ndlovu (44), and Tshidzani Mpofu (33), both from Gwayi in Plumtree—also robbed two security guards of their electronic devices and cash.
On Monday, the Bulawayo Magistrates’ Court convicted them on three counts of robbery and one count of unlawfully dealing in petroleum products, with sentencing expected on Tuesday.
The total value of the stolen items, including the diesel, two cell phones, a laptop, and a pair of sneakers from the security guards, amounts to $7,240.
In her judgment, Bulawayo regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga highlighted that Mpofu was the first to be arrested and subsequently named the other two suspects, who were found with evidence connecting them to the crimes. Malunga remarked that it was no coincidence that they were caught selling diesel the morning after the base stations were robbed, noting credible evidence of their guilt.
RELATED NEWS
- Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates Backs Kamala Harris with $50 Million Donation
- SAA’s $50 Million Frozen in Zimbabwe
- Kudzai Chipadza aka DJ ‘Kaycie’ Admits to Molesting South African Jobseeker
- Kudakwashe “Horsepower the Thug” : Rising from Comedy to Gospel Hip-Hop with Faith and Resilience
- ZRP Confirm Social Media Impact on US$4M Ecobank Heist Investigation!
In mitigation, the defense attorney argued that the men are first-time offenders who provide for their families and have young children.
Prosecutor Owen Mugari recounted that on May 27, the accused arrived at an Econet base station in a silver-grey Honda Fit driven by Mpofu. Moyo and Ndlovu, armed with a spanner and bolt cutter, restrained a security guard using cable ties and stole his Itel cell phone.
The pair forced the guard approximately 30 to 40 meters away from the base station and ordered him to lie down. They then broke into the base station, removed a diesel tank drain plug, and siphoned off 900 liters of fuel, which they transported to Emakhandeni and handed over to Itayi Yekeye, Dumisile Nkiwane, and Perseverance Hove for sale.
On June 3, the suspects targeted another Econet base station along the Bulawayo/Nkayi Road, using similar tactics. They stole a Techno cell phone, $150 in cash, a laptop, and a pair of sneakers, while draining an additional 2,000 liters of diesel.
Police later found the stolen cell phone, laptop, and sneakers at Mpofu’s home, and they recovered 620 liters of diesel from the dealers involved in the earlier theft.
