Cable thief gets 10-year jail term
By Tarisai Machakaira
A 21 year old Ruwa man was yesterday caged 10 years after being caught with 10 metres of telecommunication cables.
Trust Mapuka, 21, was convicted of 9(4) of the Postal and Telecommunications Act which prohibits wilful damage, interference of theft of telecommunication lines and apparatus.
He was sentenced to the mandatory 10 years’ imprisonment after failing to proffer any special circumstances.
The complainant was TelOne (Pvt) Ltd represented by Rodger Bakwe Gwenjere a forensic service officer.
On September 25, Mupaka hatched a plan to steal post and telecommunication cables and armed himself with a scissors before proceeding to Ruwa Rehabilitation Centre.
Around 2am, he was apprehended by Zimcan security guards Alexander Chidamba and Mukambachaza Kiven and found in possession of 10 metres of the cables.
He was handed over to the police and during investigations led detectives to Corner George Silundika and Athlay in Ruwa where he indicated that he had cut more cables on September 24.
It was established that Mapuka had cut 250 metres of the wires and disposed them except for 10 metres that he was caught in possession of.
The total value of stolen cables was $1 250 and $50 was recovered.
Recently, a Chitungwiza man, Kelvin Changana was also jailed for the same offence.
Prosecutor Fransisca Mukumbiri proved that on August 7 around 8 am, Changana was burning a bundle of telecommunication cables in a bush at corner Cork Road and Leopold Takawira Street in Harare.
Changana was spotted by a passerby who alerted police officers from Milton Park that he was burning the cables.
The police officers reacted to the information and intercepted Changana as he tried to run away from the scene with the burnt cables.
He was arrested before the burnt copper was recovered by the police.
Robert Rangarirai Paraffin of TelOne was called to identify the loot and confirmed that they were telecommunication cables.
The stolen property weighed 13kg and valued $260. Daily News.
