Online Reporter
Kimberley Chitambara, [email protected]
A 23-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo man has appeared in court after he was arrested while attempting to sell stolen broadcasting equipment worth more than US$5 000 belonging to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC).
The equipment was stolen from a ZBC outside broadcast (OB) van that had been parked at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre (ZIEC) in Bulawayo.
Elton Dalubuhle Ndlovu of Iminyela suburb appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Casmila Madzikatire, facing a charge of theft from a motor vehicle.
He was convicted on his own plea of guilty and remanded in custody until January 5 for sentencing.
Prosecuting, Mr Methuli Ncube told the court that on December 28, at around 1AM, a ZBC crew had finished loading broadcasting equipment into their OB van and securely closed all the doors while parked near Hall 4 at ZIEC.
“The accused person approached the OB van and took advantage of a door that had not been locked. He opened it and stole a black satchel containing various broadcasting gadgets,” said Mr Ncube.
The stolen items included an Apple MacBook laptop, an HP Core i7 laptop, a Barix device, a laptop charger, two power cables, a microphone connector, an audio box, three Ethernet cables, a pair of headphones and a WiFi router.
The court heard that Ndlovu was later arrested while attempting to sell some of the stolen equipment, leading to the recovery of all the items, valued at US$5 138.
The recovered property was seized under Zimbabwe Republic Police Form 390 serial numbers 0060247 and 0060248.
When asked by the magistrate why he committed the offence, Ndlovu said he wanted money.
“It was just a mistake, Your Worship. I am sorry and I will not steal again,” he said.
