Online Reporter
Kimberley Chitambara, [email protected]
A 23-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo man, who was recently arrested while attempting to sell stolen broadcasting equipment worth more than US$5,000 belonging to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), has been sentenced to three years in jail.
The equipment was stolen from a ZBC outside broadcast (OB) van that had been parked at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre (ZIEC) in Bulawayo.
Broadcasting equipment, particularly OB kits, plays a critical role in live radio and television production, including coverage of national events, exhibitions and emergency broadcasts.
Elton Dalubuhle Ndlovu of Iminyela suburb was convicted of theft from a motor vehicle when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate, Ms Casmila Madzikatire.
Ndlovu will serve an effective 18 months after 18 months were suspended for five years on condition that he does not commit a similar offence within that period.
Prosecuting, Mr Methuli Ncube told the court that on December 28, at around 1 AM, a ZBC crew had finished loading broadcasting equipment into their OB van and securely closed all the doors while parked near Hall 4 at ZIEC.
“The accused person approached the OB van and took advantage of a door that had not been locked. He opened it and stole a black satchel containing various broadcasting gadgets,” said Mr Ncube.
The stolen items included an Apple MacBook laptop, an HP Core i7 laptop, a Barix device, a laptop charger, two power cables, a microphone connector, an audio box, three Ethernet cables, a pair of headphones and a WiFi router.
The court heard that Ndlovu was later arrested while attempting to sell some of the stolen equipment, leading to the recovery of all the items, valued at US$5,138.
The recovered property was seized under Zimbabwe Republic Police Form 390 serial numbers 0060247 and 0060248.
