Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwuzura, [email protected]
TWO Bulawayo man appeared in court accused of allegedly cutting down TelOne poles and stealing copper cables.
Admire Dube (29) of Lobengula West suburb and Clive Ngonidzaishe Muzuru (28) of Old Lobengula suburb appeared before Western Commonage regional magistrate Mr Pasipanodya Maturure facing a charge of wilfully destroying, injuring or removing a telecommunications line.
They were both remanded in custody to June 8.
Prosecutor, Ms Melissa Dube said allegations are that on May 30, 2026, at around 4AM, the accused persons connived and went to Luveve along Engameni Street intending to steal TelOne copper cables.
She said the accused persons reportedly approached a TelOne line where they climbed the poles and used a bolt cutter to cut off and steal about 100 metres of drop-wire copper cables used in the transmission of communication signals.
The court heard that the accused persons then took the copper cables to a secluded bush area in Njube suburb where they started burning them, removing the rubber casing and deforming them into scrap copper.
The accused persons were seen by a police officer from Njube Police Station whilst burning and deforming the cables, said Ms Dube.
The police officer mobilised members of the public and effected the arrest of the accused persons after a chase as they attempted to flee, she added.
Some burnt and deformed copper cables were recovered from the accused persons, as well as a yellow bolt cutter, which was seized by the police, the court heard.
TelOne loss control officer Joe Gutsa identified the copper cables as property belonging to TelOne and used for the distribution of communication signals.
The recovered TelOne copper cables were taken to ZimPost for weighing and weighed 11.09 kilogrammes, valued at US$30, said Ms Dube.
