By Meditation Mposi
Zaka villagers recently apprehended a gang of six thieves who had stolen 200 meters of armored cables from an irrigation scheme before handing them over to police.
Masvingo Provincial Police Spokesperson Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the incident that happened on September 2 at Pamuchena Irrigation Scheme.
“I can confirm the arrest of thieves who stole 200m of Zesa cables at Pamuchena Irrigation Scheme in Zaka. The six accused persons were apprehended by villagers who later handed them over to the police.
“We encourage the public to desist from stealing as that slows down the country’s development. We would like to applaud the community for a job well done,” said Dhewa.
Circumstances are that on September 2, Mutema Machado of Nhongo Village, Chief Nhema, Zaka was at his workplace at Pamuchena Irrigation Scheme, Zaka when he noticed that armored cables from the ZESA poles were missing.
Machado alerted other villagers and they followed footprints found at the crime scene, leading them to Temurai Village, Chief Nhema. At around 1000hours the villagers saw Aaron Mutambi pushing a bicycle carrying a black bag covered with sacks and they went after him but he ran away leaving the bicycle behind.
The villagers opened the bag and saw the armored cables.
After opening the bag another suspect Munyaradzi Mutambi arrived at the scene with the intention of helping Aaron. The villagers then apprehended him before he admitted that he had stolen the cables together with Aaron and Moses Mutambi.
He confessed that they wanted to load the cables into a getaway vehicle that was a few hundred metres away.
The villagers went to where the car was parked and saw Azira Temba (28), Tazira Timothy (32) and Tarisai Dzitiro (27) from Tshovani, Chiredzi.
They also managed to apprehend the three before handing them over to the police.
Sources said the getaway vehicle belonged to a police officer based in Chiredzi.
