Thief who stole from over 100 cars nabbed on wedding eve

By Nqobile Tshili

A man from Mahatshula suburb in Bulawayo is set to appear in court following his arrest two days before his wedding for breaking and stealing from nearly 100 cars.

Tatenda Alex Tawanda Sithole and his accomplice Clive Conwell, who is still on the run, allegedly went on a stealing rampage and nicked valuable goods from about 100 cars in three cities: Bulawayo, Harare and Mutare.

Police yesterday said the two committed the crimes between April and July this year.

Some of the items that were recovered include cellphones, handbags, and laptops.

Sithole has already appeared in court in Mutare and is expected to be brought before the courts in Bulawayo and Harare in due course.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango said Sithole has over 100 counts of theft from vehicles in Bulawayo, Harare and Mutare he has to answer to.

“We arrested him last month, two days before his wedding. He has about 60 counts of theft cases in Bulawayo, 15 cases in Mutare and about 20 cases in Harare,” she said.

Insp Simango said Sithole was arrested by officers from the Criminal Investigation Detectives (CID) in Bulawayo working with their counterparts from Mutare on October 10.

She said police have already taken Sithole to Mutare where he has appeared in court.

“From Mutare he is going to be taken to Harare where he is supposed to appear in court in connection with 20 cases of theft from vehicles. After that he will be brought to Bulawayo to answer to 60 cases of theft from vehicles,” Insp Simango said.

She said police are still looking for Conwell who is suspected to be living in Bulawayo.

Insp Simango said police were appealing to members of the public with information on Conwell’s whereabouts to come forward.

Police said despite carrying out campaigns educating members of the public against keeping valuables in their cars, the trend still persists.

Insp Simango urged members of the public who might have lost their valuables to visit Bulawayo Central Police Station, theft from vehicle section to identify their property.

“Some of the property has already been identified and we’re urging those who lost their property in the mentioned period to visit our offices at Central Police Station,” she said. The Chronicle