Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku [email protected]
A 19-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo man who ganged up with two female accomplices to steal a Honda Fit from a local mechanic and strip it for parts has been convicted.
Brendon Moyo was convicted on his own plea of guilty to theft of a motor vehicle by Bulawayo magistrate Ms Sibonginkosi Mkandla. He was remanded in custody to Tuesday for sentencing.
In mitigation, Moyo pleaded for leniency, citing economic hardship as the reason behind committing the offence.
“I needed money to support my father and my siblings. My mother died when I was fairly young. I faced challenges when I was growing up, which is why I had to resort to stealing. This is my first time to steal, I ask the court to be lenient with me,” he pleaded.
However, in aggravation, the prosecutor, Ms Tsungie Mutapi, argued that Moyo committed a serious offence.
“The accused committed the crime in the company of two women and he is not able to restitute. He stole the vehicle and stripped its parts for selling them, which is a serious crime,” she said.
The complainant is Thabiso Hadebe (36).
The court heard that sometime in March, the complainant received a Honda Fit, registration number AEH 7769, for engine repairs.
He kept the vehicle at his workshop.
“On 15 May 2026, the accused person stole the vehicle. He towed the stolen motor vehicle to a house in Pumula South, Bulawayo, where he teamed up with two women and stripped the motor vehicle of its axle, gearbox, rear lights, front bumper and bonnet,” said Ms Mutapi.
After making efforts to recover his vehicle without success, Hadebe reported the matter to the police. Detectives from the Vehicle Theft Squad (VTS) launched investigations, leading to Moyo’s arrest and the subsequent recovery of the stripped shell of the car at a house in Nkulumane suburb.
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