Three men from Bulawayo stole 2,900 litres of diesel from Econet Wireless base stations in Rangemore suburb and along the Bulawayo/Nkayi Road, and set up a stall to sell the fuel near the crime scene.
The trio—Themba Moyo (55) from Njube suburb, Carlton Ndlovu (44), and Tshidzani Mpofu (33), both from Gwayi in Plumtree—also robbed two security guards of their electronic gadgets and cash.
On Monday, they were convicted by the Bulawayo Magistrates’ Court on three counts of robbery and one count of unlawful dealing in petroleum products, with sentencing expected on Tuesday.
The total value of the stolen diesel, two cell phones, a laptop, and a pair of sneakers from the security guards amounts to US$7,240.
In delivering the judgment, Bulawayo regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga noted that Mpofu was the first to be arrested and subsequently implicated the other two accused, who were found with evidence linking them to the crimes. Said Malunga:
The court finds that it is not by coincidence that immediately after the Econet base stations were robbed, the three were found selling diesel the following morning. The court has found that there is credible evidence that the three offenders are guilty of the crimes.
In mitigation the defence lawyer submitted that the three are first-time offenders, they are breadwinners and have minor children.
Prosecutor Owen Mugari, said that on May 27, the accused trio arrived at an Econet base station in Rangemore suburb in a silver-grey Honda Fit, driven by Mpofu.
Moyo and Ndlovu, armed with a spanner and a bolt cutter, restrained the on-duty security guard using cable ties and stole his Itel cell phone.
The duo force-marched the security guard approximately 30 to 40 meters away from the base station, ordering him to lie down on the ground.
The pair broke into the base station, removed a diesel tank drain plug with spanners, and drained 900 litres of fuel, which they transported to Emakhandeni suburb and gave to Itayi Yekeye, Dumisile Nkiwane and Perseverance Hove – to sell.
On June 3, the trio targeted another Econet base station along the Bulawayo/Nkayi Road, armed with a spanner, hacksaw, and bolt cutter.
They employed the same method of incapacitating the on-duty security guard, searching him for a panic button before restraining his hands and feet with cable ties.
During this incident, they stole a Techno cell phone, US$150 in cash, a laptop, and a pair of sneakers, while draining 2,000 litres of diesel.
The stolen cell phone, laptop, and sneakers were found at Mpofu’s home, and police recovered 620 litres of diesel from the same fuel dealers involved in the earlier theft.
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