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A BLANKET Mine employee has been fined $100 for stealing explosives from the mine.
Michael Chimhungwe (41) who was employed as a trammer at Blanket Mine was convicted on his own plea of guilty to theft charges when he was arraigned before Gwanda magistrate Mrs Olivia Mashava Mashaire on Friday.
He told the court that he intended to use the stolen explosives at his rural home to assist him in drilling a borehole.
He was fined $100 (or 30 days imprisonment).
In sentencing him, Mrs Mashaire said what aggravated the offence was that Chimhungwe bit the hand that fed him and that the stolen explosives were dangerous to members of the public.
“The accused stole from his employer betraying the trust bestowed on him by his employer. Moreover, the explosives that you stole are a danger to the public as they can explode and cause harm to them,” she said.
The magistrate also bemoaned the rise in theft cases at Blanket Mine, saying the court had to impose stiff penalties to offenders.
“The cases of theft at Blanket Mine are on the increase. There is a need for the courts to assist the mine by giving strict sentences to offenders. That would deter would-be offenders,” said Mrs Mashaire.
She also lashed out at Chimhungwe saying that what he did was a stupid act that had cost him his job.
In passing the sentence, she said she had also considered that Chimhungwe was a first offender who had led a clean life for the past 41 years.
It i the State’s case that on 6 May at around 4:13am at Blanket Mine, Chimhungwe was coming out of the mine premises carrying a suitcase and a plastic bag.
He was searched at the gate by the mine’s security guard and was found with some clothes in the plastic bag and beneath the clothes were 31 capped fuses and 28 kubela explosives.
The matter was reported to the police leading to Chimhungwe’s arrest.
The value of the stolen property was $40,19 and it was all recovered.
Ms Getrude Zvidzai represented the State.
Online Reporter