Five years for stealing Chipinge water pipes

TWO Chipinge men who connived with Harare-based suspects to steal water pipes worth $14 million from the local authority were last week slapped with a five-year jail term each.

Courage Kabaira and his friend, Dzingai Magunda, were convicted by acting Chipinge regional magistrate, Mr Franklyn Mkwananzi, after a full trial.

Mr Mkwananzi slapped Kabaira and Magunda with five years imprisonment each and suspended six months on condition that the two restitute the council $7 258 607 before February 24.

Prosecuting, Mr Timothy Katsande said sometime in September last year, Kabaira and Magunda, together with two other accomplices — Lovemore Chikengezha and Vigilant Chikengezha who are still at large, hired Mr Shylot Kanyoka’s UD truck in Harare to ferry water pipes from Chipinge.

“Mr Kanyoka was not aware that the people who had hired his truck were criminals. Lovemore, Vigilant and Magunda travelled to Chipinge and arrived around 11pm.

“The trio met Kabaira at Dzonzai Business Centre and he supplied four wooden logs that were used by the accused persons in the commissioning of the crime,” said Mr Katsande.

He said the gang proceeded to Chipinge Town Council maintenance workshop armed with the logs.

“They attacked a security guard, Mr Farai Furagweza, who was in the guardroom. One of the robbers stabbed Mr Furagweza with a sharp knife on his palm. They also assaulted him with the logs.

“They tied him with a rope and proceeded to remove PVC galvanized pipes from the storeroom and loaded them into the truck. They used the Birchenough Bridge-Murambinda

Road to connect to Harare,” said Mr Katsande.

The gang sold some of the pipes to Daniel Chihwa for US$540, while the other pipes were sold to Fadzai Zimunya for US$1 900.

Mr Katsande said the police managed to recover the stolen pipes by tracking a cellphone that was stolen from Mr Furagweza.

“Police intelligence officers managed to track them down and recovered the stolen phone from Tanaka Mureverwi in Glen Norah. He revealed where he had bought the phone, thereby leading to the arrest of the accused persons,” said Mr Katsande.