A 41-year-old Mbare man has appeared in court facing allegations of stealing telecommunications infrastructure and possessing copper without a certificate of o...
A 41-year-old Mbare man has appeared in court facing allegations of stealing telecommunications infrastructure and possessing copper without a certificate of origin.
Jeffrey Simbarashe Micha Murandu appeared before Harare regional magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa and pleaded guilty to the charges. The matter was deferred to the trial court for formal plea recording tomorrow.
TelOne Zimbabwe is the complainant in the matter and is represented by its loss control officer, Rodger Gwenjere.
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The State alleges that Murandu went to a house in Eastlea, Harare, at about 3am on Tuesday and attempted to remove a brass postal box installed at the main gate of the property.
The homeowner, Celso Chiang, reportedly heard a noise and woke up after being alerted to activity at the gate. He then went outside with his two sons, where they allegedly found Murandu holding an unidentified object while attempting to remove the postal box.
According to the State, Murandu ran away after realising that he had been detected. Chiang and his two sons allegedly pursued him for approximately 60 metres before catching him.
The State further alleges that a subsequent search resulted in the recovery of TelOne drop wires and scrap copper from Murandu’s possession. He was then taken to Rhodesville Police Station for further investigations.
The court heard that Gwenjere was later called to identify the items recovered during the investigation. He allegedly positively identified a six-metre drop-wire cable as property belonging to TelOne Zimbabwe.
The alleged recovery of the telecommunications cable forms part of the State’s case against Murandu. He is facing charges relating to the alleged theft of telecommunications infrastructure as well as possession of copper without a certificate of origin.
The court also heard that a weighing certificate issued by the National Railways of Zimbabwe indicated that the recovered copper weighed five kilogrammes.
The material was subsequently submitted to the University of Zimbabwe for assay. The results of the assay form part of the evidence relating to the recovered copper.
The matter is expected to proceed to the trial court tomorrow, where the formal plea will be recorded. Murandu remains accused of the offences and the allegations against him have not yet been tested through a full trial.
The case comes after Murandu was allegedly apprehended following the incident at the Eastlea property. According to the State’s account, his attempted removal of the brass postal box was detected by the homeowner, leading to the subsequent pursuit and apprehension.
The State will rely on the alleged recovery of TelOne drop wires and scrap copper, the identification of the cable by TelOne’s loss control officer and the weighing certificate as part of its case.
The formal plea recording tomorrow will determine the next stage of the proceedings before the trial court.
