The ManicaPost
Senior Reporter
A 22-year-old Chipinge man who stole a pick-up truck from an elderly man from the town and embarked on a hiring spree in Checheche will spend the next eight years in jail after he was convicted of the offence recently.Tapiwa Bandama, who claimed that the complainant, Morgan Kufa (76), was his uncle, had pleaded with the courts to spare him, saying he knew that Kufa would not allow him to take the truck but stole it to raise money he would eventually share with the complainant.
Regional magistrate Mr Alex Shumba threw away his plea, saying by his own defence he was admitting to stealing the vehicle and thus the proposed money-sharing motive was neither here nor there.
It was the State’s case, led by public prosecutor Mr Mike Tembo, that on October 21, 2013 the accused went to house number 459 Medium Density in Chipinge where he unlawfully took the motor vehicle.
“He opened the locked doors of the car using an unknown object. While inside he found car keys which had been left underneath the seat. He started the car and drove away. Police later received information that the accused was driving the car along the Ngundu-Tanganganda road.
“Detectives made a follow-up and the accused was arrested at Rimbi Business Centre. The car, worth $7 000, was recovered. When he was interrogated he admitted to stealing the vehicle,” said Mr Tembo.
