The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa Weekender Correspondent —
A MEMBER of the Zimbabwe National Army has learnt the hard way that crime does not pay after he allegedly stole a smartphone from a good Samaritan who had offered him a lift to Harare.
Simbarashe David Nyamudeza (25) who is stationed at 3 Brigade Army Headquarters pleaded guilty when he appeared before Mutare magistrate, Mr Poterai Gwezhira last week.
Mr Fletcher Karombe prosecuted.
Allegations were that on October 1, 2016, and at around 2100hrs one Isaac Machangu offered Nyamudeza who was in Army uniform a lift to Harare in his Iveco vehicle.
Nyamudeza was allegedly hitch-hiking. He is alleged to have asked for Machangu’s cellphone, a Samsung J5, claiming that he needed to transfer music into his own phone using Blue-tooth.
“With Machangu’s phone and his, Nyamudeza quickly disembarked the vehicle in the pretence of listening to the music which he was then transferring into his phone as Machangu waited for other passengers.
“Nyamudeza disappeared into darkness with both phones and never came back,” said Mr Karombe.
The value of the stolen cellphone is $300 and nothing was recovered. Nyamudeza was arrested in Harare after having stolen the phone in Mutare. Asked on why he committed the offence, Nyamudeza told the court that the moment he disembarked from the vehicle on the said night, he was arrested by military police over the offence of hitch-hiking while in army uniform.
“Your Worship, they arrested me and took me back to 3 Brigade, I was given no chance of giving Machangu back his phone.
“They did not give me the chance because they feared that I would run away as I had previous similar incidents with the military police.
Asked on why he had not looked for Machangu after his release from work, he responded; “My wife had collected both phones and when I got home, she had ran away with my property and the phones so I did not know what to do next,” answered the uniformed force.
Mr Gwezhira remanded Nyamudeza in custody to December 28, 2016.
