Online Reporter
Moreblessing Ncube
A STEAMING hot attempt at theft brewed into disaster for a 41-year-old Entumbane man who tried to sneak out of a Bulawayo supermarket with a 600-gramme pack of Ricoffy stuffed down his shorts.
Sibusiso Siwela thought he had the perfect pick-me-up plan when he entered Sai Mart, located at the corner of Herbert Chitepo and 9th Avenue, on 18 July. Instead of paying for his caffeine fix, he decided to smuggle it out of the store in his pants.
The coffee, worth just US$13, landed him in a boiling pot of trouble.
In court, prosecutor Mehluli Ndlovu revealed that Siwela tried to avoid the tills altogether, opting instead to pull off a “scoop-and-sprint” operation. But fate and Chengetai Shumba — Sai Mart’s security guard — had other plans.
Shumba, the hero of the hour, told the court that something about Siwela’s movements didn’t sit right with him.
“I requested to search him because I had seen him trying to sneak out with the coffee,” he testified.
Sure enough, the search revealed the 600g pack of Ricoffy hidden in Siwela’s shorts, probably brewing a sweat and guilt in equal measure.
The coffee was recovered, and Siwela was marched straight into custody.
Tredgold Magistrate Maxwell Ncube fined him US$110 for the clumsy caffeine heist. Should Siwela fail to pay, he will enjoy a month-long state-sponsored break behind bars.
