Copper ‘thief’ loses bail quest

THE High Court has rejected an application for bail pending trial by a suspected member of a notorious syndicate who was caught with 50kg of stolen copper cables hidden in his car along the Cross Dete-Binga road.

Sibangani Dube (41) is facing charges of contravening a section of the Electricity Act. He allegedly cut copper cables which supply electricity.

The property belongs to the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC).

Dube, through his lawyer Mr Kholwani Ngwenya of Mabhikwa, Hikwa and Partners, filed an application for bail pending trial at the Bulawayo High Court citing the State as the respondent.

Justice Martin Makonese dismissed the application, saying there was no guarantee that if granted, Dube would not abscond given the seriousness of the offence.

“I am satisfied that in this matter the State has a very strong case against the applicant who was caught at the crime scene.

“If convicted of the offence, the applicant faces a mandatory sentence of 10 years imprisonment hence if granted bail he may be induced to abscond.

“The applicant is not a suitable candidate for bail and under the circumstances, the application for bail is hereby dismissed,” ruled the judge.

Dube contends that he has no knowledge of the copper cables. He said on the day of his arrest he was actually coming from Binga where he had gone to buy fish.

“On that particular day, I had left my car by the roadside. When I returned and was about get into my vehicle, I was shocked to see police detectives who surrounded me before they arrested me on allegations of cutting copper cables,” he said.

Dube argued that the assertion by the State that he was likely to abscond if granted bail was not well grounded.

He said there was nothing to suggest that if granted bail he would interfere with investigations and State witnesses.

The State, which was being represented by Mr Trust Muduma, opposed bail. He said chances were very high that Dube would abscond if granted bail due to the gravity of the offence.

It is alleged that between June and July this year along Cross Dete-Binga road at around 1AM, police and officials from ZETDC were patrolling along the power line in the area.

They spotted a white Honda Fit registration number ACY7299 parked at the roadside.

They laid an ambush near the vehicle. When they saw Dube opening the doors of the car, they pounced on him. A search was conducted leading to the recovery of 50kg of copper cables hidden inside the vehicle.

On being quizzed about the copper cables, Dube failed to account for the loot leading to his arrest. — @mashnets.