A GWERU-BASED policeman who last year was accused of stealing copper cables from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Precabe Farm in Sherwood, Kwekwe, has been acquitted of the charges.
Musa Mukuli, based at Nehanda Police Station in Mkoba, Gweru, was last week freed of the charges together with three other accused persons William Urayayi, Silas Musindo and James Mulongo.
Kwekwe provincial magistrate Mildred Matuvi ruled that the State had failed to provide evidence that the four had stolen the copper cables from Mnangagwa’s farm.
The four were represented by Gweru lawyer Esau Mandipa of Mutatu and Mandipa Legal Practice.
Mulongo was, however, found guilty on another charge in which he pleaded guilty to stealing solar panels at Mnangagwa’s farm. He was jailed 14 months for the offence.
Allegations were that on September 14 last year at around 11pm, Mukuli, Urayayi, Musindo and Mulongo connived to steal solar panels from Mnangagwa’s Brownland Estate Farm, which is adjacent to Precabe Farm.
The court heard that the accused persons went to the farm, where they allegedly stole three solar panels supplying power to a borehole and hid them in a nearby bush.
The gang was, however, spotted in a silver Honda Fit registration number AEA 6642 by security personnel from Precabe Farm.
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The other three allegedly ran away, leaving behind Mukuli who was subsequently arrested.
The court further heard that during investigations, a water pump attendant at Precabe Farm, Liberty Zunga identified Mukuli as one of the people who had stolen copper cables at the farm on September 7.
On the said date, Mukuli together with the other three accused allegedly went to Precabe Farm pump house near Munyati River and stole copper cables.
The four allegedly cut and took armoured cables connecting the transformer to the pump.
The accused reportedly pulled the cables to a nearby field, where they peeled off the copper cables from the insulation rubber.
They were, however, spotted by Lunga, who was conducting perimeter checks at the pump house.
Lunga allegedly caught Mukuli and the two wrestled, but Lunga was overpowered and the four accused persons disappeared into the night.
