Two Harare men were arrested while stealing TelOne copper cables in Mabelreign. They pleaded guilty in court and are awaiting sentencing. The stolen cables were recovered after swift action by TelOne officers.
Two Harare men were caught red-handed stealing underground copper cables belonging to TelOne and appeared before the Harare Magistrates Court on Friday. The suspects, Ignatius Magara, aged 24, and Onias Marenga, aged 19, pleaded guilty to contravening the Postal and Telecommunications Act.
The pair appeared before Regional Magistrate Mrs Fadzai Mthombeni, where they admitted to the charges. Following their court appearance, they were remanded in custody and are expected to return for sentencing today. TelOne is being represented in the matter by its loss control officer, Mr Boniface Chitungo.
According to the prosecution, led by Mr Kudakwashe Muza, the incident occurred last Thursday in Mabelreign, Harare. The court heard that Magara and Marenga had planned to steal underground copper cables owned by TelOne along Warburn Road.
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The two suspects reportedly accessed a TelOne manhole using tools that included a torch, side cutters, a ratchet, a chisel, a knife and a star screwdriver. Once inside, they cut a 15-metre section of active 800-pair underground copper cables.
After removing the cables, the accused transported the stolen material to nearby fields across Harare Drive. Their intention was to strip off the protective covering from the cables, which is commonly done before selling copper.
However, the theft was detected through TelOne’s monitoring system, which triggered an alarm. This alert notified the company’s loss control officers, prompting a quick response to the scene.
Loss control officers Mathias Muzorori and Boniface Chitungo arrived at the location and found the manhole open, with the cables already cut. They then followed a trail believed to have been left by the suspects.
During the search, Muzorori located Marenga in the nearby fields while he was in the process of stripping the cables. He apprehended him at the scene without incident.
Magara attempted to escape upon noticing the presence of the officers. However, he was pursued by Chitungo, who managed to capture him with assistance from local residents in the area.
The stolen copper cables were successfully recovered, and both suspects were handed over to the police. The prosecution highlighted that such acts of vandalism result in service disruptions and financial losses for TelOne.
The court heard that cases involving the theft of telecommunications infrastructure are treated as serious offences due to their impact on communication services. The matter has since been adjourned to today for sentencing.
