Moffat Mungazi
Lovemore Kadzura
Post Reporter
DARING timber poachers who were causing Wattle Company sleepless nights by harvesting timber from their plantations were recently convicted and sentenced for the offence.
The convicts, Tabeth Mawoyo (44), Mudikamwi Muchitu (20), Nelson Tangwena (24), Mike Chirapu (23), and Simbarashe Mapeta (25), were jointly charged with Sydney Machipanda (28), who was acquitted after a full trial.
The convicts were found guilty of theft, as defined in Section 113(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification Reform) Act, by Mutasa magistrate, Ms Fungai Muringi.
They were represented by Mr Cosmas Chibaya of Chibaya and Associates.
Ms Muringi sentenced the convicts to 12 months in jail, of which four months of the sentence were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.
The remaining eight months were wholly suspended upon completion of 280 hours of community service.
The community service assignments were allocated as follows – Mawoyo and Tangwena will serve at Sakubva Primary School, while Muchitu will be at Dangamvura High School, and Mapeta at ZRP Sakubva.
Prosecutor, Mr Tinashe Madziwa told the court that the crew invaded a Wattle Company timber plantation in Mutasa during the dead of the night, armed with chain saws and axes, cutting timber logs, before being spotted by alert security guards. They ran away leaving behind a truck and cellphone which helped police to track them.
“On August 6, 2024 at around 10pm, and at Compartment 62, Reneen Estate, Wattle Company, Mutasa, the accused persons connived, and hatched a plan to steal timber logs from Wattle Company plantation. They proceeded to cut down 78 pine logs, measuring about six meters long using a chainsaw and some axes.
“They proceeded to load some of the timber logs in their white Scania truck (Registration Number AFJ4949). They were intercepted by Mr Gift Masamba and Mr Charles Nyagande, who were on night patrol. The accused persons noticed the security guards and ran away in different directions, leaving their white Scania truck at the scene.
“The complainant reported the matter to the police who attended the scene, and escorted the dumped truck to the police station. Investigations were carried out leading to the recovery of Mutichu’s cellphone, which was then used to track the accused persons. This resulted in the arrest of Tangwena who implicated other accused persons. The value of stolen timber is US$1 690, and all was recovered,” said Mr Madziwa.
Meanwhile, Wattle Company managing director, Mr Douglas Mautsa, has revealed that the company is losing timber worth thousands of dollars to timber poachers, and applauded police for bringing the culprits to book.
“The syndicate had really caused trouble, and we had to sit down and strategise. We made real progress in catching the thieves and putting things under control. We devised a response mechanism, and bring in lawyers to help us push cases in the courts.
“We also got a lot of assistance from ZRP Mutasa, who did very well. Whoever might be planning to commit similar poaching activities, they need to know that Wattle Company is declaring war on them. We are losing quite a lot. The timber industry at the moment is experiencing resources shortages to the extent that we have to down scale operations because the resource base can no longer support high activity levels.
“Given that, we are focusing on making sure that our operations are efficient to actually get the most out of the little resource we have. We will not allow individuals to invade our estates and steal from us. We are losing hundreds of thousands dollars annually to timber poaching. We are, however, happy with the support we are getting from the police and the courts. The direction things have taken is quite encouraging,” said Mr Mautsa.
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