Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve, Victoria Falls Reporter
A 23-year-old man from Bulawayo has been sentenced to prison for breaking into the home of a senior police officer inside the Victoria Falls Police quarters.
Trevor Ngwenya appeared before Victoria Falls Magistrate Miss Nyengeterai Bushu, facing two charges of aggravated unlawful entry into premises.
Prosecutor Mrs Portia Moyo told the court that on 11 January 2026, Ngwenya and his co-accused, Lloyd Bhurati, unlawfully entered the house of Gladys Mugoni, a police officer and Officer in Charge at ZRP Kazungula, through an open window.
“The complainant woke after hearing strange noises and saw Ngwenya inside her home. Upon realising he had been seen, Ngwenya tried to flee and in the process damaged 12 dinner plates, broke a lock pad, and damaged a toilet cistern,” said Mrs Moyo.
Ngwenya was apprehended at the scene, while Bhurati initially escaped but was later arrested at his residence. The total value of the damaged property was US$95.
The court also heard that Ngwenya had been involved in another break-in just a day earlier. On 10 January 2026, he, along with Dumisani Mafu and Tinashe Phiri, unlawfully entered a house in the Aerodrome area through an open window and stole a Huawei P-Smart cell phone valued at US$100. The phone was later recovered by police.
A significant turn came when Ngwenya accepted sole responsibility for both crimes, exonerating his accomplices. Magistrate Bushu subsequently acquitted Bhurati, Mafu, and Phiri.
Ngwenya, however, received a firm sentence: 14 months in prison for the aggravated unlawful entry into the police officer’s home, with the sentence for the second charge to run concurrently.
