10 years in jail

with contravening the Telecommunications Act that crimi­nalises receiving or taking possession of any telecommunication infrastruc­ture material. In Zimbabwe crimes of this nature attract a mandatory sentence of not less than 10 years unless there are spe­cial circumstances; but the court found none. In passing sentence Harare magis­trate Mr Donald Ndirowei said Chit­samba committed a very serious offence.
“In this case there are no special cir­cumstances to warrant the court to dis­regard the mandatory sentence,” said Mr Ndirowei.
Prosecutor Mr Nyikadzino Machin­gura had urged the court to impose a mandatory sentence on the basis that crimes of this nature were prevalent.
On August 26, a security guard man­ning the TelOne poles saw Chit­samba carrying two bags. Chitsamba ran away and was caught by the guard. He failed to give a satisfac­tory answer as to where he got the wires leading to his arrest.