Chronicle Editor
Chronicle Writer
A 19-YEAR-OLD man from Nkulumane 11 suburb in Bulawayo who was trending on social media over the weekend after he was trapped in a ceiling at a building that he allegedly tried to break into in the city centre, has appeared in court.
Khulumani Dube was stuck in the ceiling at Tasmine Building along 10th Avenue between Jason Moyo and Joshua Nkomo Street, where he appeared to have spent the better part of Friday night.
He appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Nomagugu Maphosa facing a charge of unlawful entry. Dube pleaded guilty to some of the facts and was remanded out of custody to 10 May on $30 000 bail.
State allegations are that on 22 April 2023, Dube used an unknown object to remove roofing sheets from the building.
He then entered the building and damaged the ceiling. Khulumani was found on the same day trapped inside the ceiling and was arrested. The cost of the damage to the ceiling is estimated to be US$114.
In his defence, Khulumani denied damaging the ceiling and said that it was already damaged before he got there.
On Sunday, our sister paper the Sunday News interviewed a witness who spoke on condition anonymity who said traders at the building noticed that someone was inside the ceiling when they arrived to open shop for the day.
“When we opened the shop, we realised that the ceiling was damaged. We checked various accessories which we sell and observed that nothing was stolen. A few minutes later one of our female colleagues noticed that there was someone peeping through the ceiling and we reported the matter to the police,” said the witness.
Online Reporter