State closes theft case against ex-councillor

John Robert Khumalo (59) is being accused of stealing water pumps worth $6 000 that were donated to the Jotsholo community by the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (Norad) when he was still a councillor in the 1990s.
Norad reportedly donated three pumps when Khumalo was councillor for Manganga and Kwarayi areas in Jotsholo. The pumps were meant for farming projects in the area.
Khumalo is out of custody on $100 bail he was granted last year when he appeared before Lupane magistrate Mr Takudzwa Gwazemba.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed that he did not steal the pumps but lent them to some of the community members to use.
The State led by Mr Sanders Sibanda closed its case on Wednesday after leading evidence from witnesses but Khumalo’s lawyer, Mr Solomon Mguni of Hwalima, Moyo and Associates indicated that he would want to apply for discharge at the close of the State case.
The State and the defence counsel consented that Mr Mguni should submit a written application by 25 January when Khumalo will next appear in court.
The State alleges that due to vandalism of public property in the area, the pumps were removed and a villager was asked to keep them at his home.
After losing his position as councillor, Khumalo allegedly approached the villager and asked for the pumps on the pretext that he wanted to take them for repairs.
He then allegedly sold them to three different people.
In 2010, the court heard, the community discovered that the pumps had not been returned from the purported repairers and inquired from Khumalo who could not account for them.
The matter was reported to the police leading to the recovery of one pump from Mr Willie Buster Magwizi.
Another pump was reportedly recovered from one Christel Dube’s premises at Gwayi Safari while the third has not been recovered.