The ManicaPost
Abel Zhakata Senior Reporter
A STUDENT at Africa University has been slapped with a 20 month jail term after he was convicted of stealing cell phones and computer accessories from five fellow students at the institution of higher learning.
Torevei Muganyura (22) pleaded guilty to five counts of theft when he appeared before Mutare magistrate Mr Innocent Bepura at the Mutasa Magistrates’ Court.
Mr Shepherd Chawarika prosecuted.
Of the sentence, eight months were suspended on condition of good behaviour, meaning he will serve an effective 12 months behind bars.
The court heard that on February 12, the suspect who is a resident at the AU Old Mutare campus went to the complainant, Desire Gwaturi’s room looking for a hard drive.
However, the complainant told the suspect that the hard drive was in the next room and he accompanied him to where the gadget was.
Later, the complainant failed to locate his Samsung S3 phone. Following numerous thefts at the university a search was conducted by security personnel which led to the recovery of several cell phones and hard drives the suspect had stolen from five fellow students.
Some of the students who lost their valuables include Phanuel Issa, Piman Clement, Simbarashe Chimoga and Alfred Samuriwo.
In some of the cases Maganyura sneaked into complainants’ rooms while they were asleep in the middle of the night and unplugged cell phones from chargers and disappeared unnoticed.
He also unlocked closed doors using unknown objects to gain entry into rooms and steal.
