Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwizura [email protected]
TWO Bulawayo men who vandalised telecommunications infrastructure and stole copper cables belonging to TelOne have been sentenced to 10 years each in prison.
Admire Dube (29) of Lobengula West suburb and Clive Ngonidzaishe Muzuru (28) of Old Lobengula suburb were convicted by Western Commonage Regional Magistrate Mr Pasipanodya Maturure, of willfully destroying, injuring or removing a telecommunications line.
The pair pleaded not guilty to the offence, and their defence was that they never committed the crime.
They claimed to have walked to the crime scene, and saw other people burning the cables.
When the pair tried to catch the people they ran away.
They further told the court that in their attempt to go and report the matter, they were found by the police officer who then summoned other residents to come and help him to arrest them since they tried to flee after the police officer failed to understand what they were saying that they were not the ones who committed the offence.
Prosecutor, Ms Melissa Dube told the court that on May 30, at around 4am, the accused connived and went to Engameni Street in Luveve with the intention of stealing TelOne copper cables.
The court heard that the two allegedly climbed TelOne poles and used a bolt cutter to cut and steal about 100 metres of drop-wire copper cables used in the transmission of communication signals.
After removing the cables, the accused persons are said to have taken them to a bushy area in Njube suburb, where they started burning them to remove the rubber casing and convert them into scrap copper.
Ms Dube said the accused were spotted by a police officer from Njube Police Station while they were burning and deforming the cables.
The officer reportedly mobilised members of the public and pursued the suspects when they attempted to flee, leading to their arrest.
Some burnt and deformed copper cables were recovered from the accused persons, while a yellow bolt cutter used in the commission of the offence was also seized.
The court heard that TelOne loss control officer Mr Joe Gutsa identified the recovered cables as TelOne property used in the distribution of communication signals.
The recovered copper cables were taken to ZimPost for weighing and were found to weigh 11,09 kilogrammes, with an estimated value of US$30.
