Online Reporter
Raymond Jaravaza, Zimpapers Reporter
BULAWAYO police have arrested two juveniles, aged 14 and 15 years old, for stealing vehicles on separate occasions by using spare keys and a pair of scissors to start the vehicles that were parked at car parks in Entumbane and Emakhandeni suburbs.
Both vehicles were later driven into the Bulawayo city centre where one was involved in a road accident while the other was driven to police station by an alert off duty police officer who got suspicious after noticing that the driver was driving erratically.
The two juveniles are not permitted to drive by virtue of being under the legal age to possess driver’s licenses.
“In the late hours of 12 May 2026, a road traffic accident occurred involving two motor vehicles at the corner of 1st Avenue and Josiah Tongogara Street and upon interviews police discovered that the other driver was a minor who had stolen the vehicle at a car park in Entumbane suburb.
“The vehicle was stolen after its owner, a 34 year old woman, parked it at the car park. At around 8PM, the juvenile, accompanied by two boys aged eight and five years old, used duplicate keys to start the vehicle and drove in the city centre,” said Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Nomalanga Msebele.
Further investigations by police revealed that the juvenile had been working with his uncle only identified as Benson from Emganwini suburb to steal vehicles at Zothile car park in Ntumbane, use the cars to pirate at night and return them early in the morning.
In a separate incident in the early morning of 30 April 2026, a police officer on his way home from work boarded a Honda Fit near Old Renkini Bus Terminus along Luveve Road that was being driven by a 15 year old juvenile.
“After a short distance, the officer noticed that the driver was driving recklessly. He introduced himself as a police officer and asked the juvenile to produce driver’s license, the suspect failed to do so and the officer instructed him to stop the vehicle.
“It was discovered that the vehicle had been stolen from a car par in Emakhandeni suburb and that a 57 year old man had been looking for it. The juvenile had used a pair of scissors to start the motor vehicle and drive off into the Bulawayo city centre,” said Insp. Msebele.
She warned motorists to use extra locking devices on their vehicles and added that police were worried about the surge in motor vehicle theft cases, especially Honda Fits.
“We also urge parents not to expose their children to criminal activities. Some parents start teaching their children to drive at a young age thereby invoking appetite for driving in the young people,” she added.
