Langa Mabena
Musawenkosi Moyo
TWO men from Bulawayo have each been sentenced to six years in prison for stealing a car in Botswana.
Onias Mapfundirwa (45) and Abraham Murima (35) appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Matthew Mutiro, facing one count of theft.
They pleaded not guilty but were convicted after a full trial and initially sentenced to eight years each.
Two years of each sentence were suspended on condition that they do not commit a similar offense within five years.
They will each serve an effective six years in prison.
In his defense, Mapfundirwa claimed he was a middleman connecting buyers and sellers. He stated that on the day of their arrest, Murima approached him to sell the car on his behalf, and that he was unaware it was stolen. Murima also claimed he did not steal the car but had purchased it from someone else.
In sentencing the pair, the court considered the sophisticated nature of the crime, the value of the car, and the fact that it was recovered in a damaged state.
The circumstances of the theft were that on December 15, 2024, in Francistown, Botswana, the complainant, Marang Nthobatsang, a director at Rustic Woods (PTY) LTD, went to bed, leaving her company vehicle, a Mazda Demio, parked in her yard.
The car’s windows were closed, the doors locked, and the keys were inside the house.
During the night, at around 2 am, Mapfundirwa and Murima used unknown means to unlock and steal the car.
They drove the stolen vehicle and used an undesignated entry point to cross the border into Zimbabwe.
The complainant discovered the theft the following morning and reported it to the police.
The car was equipped with a GPS tracker, which was used to locate it in Mahatshula North, Bulawayo, leading to the arrest of the two men.
The stolen car was valued at US$5 000.
mbulelo smpofu
Online Reporter
