Terrence Mawawa, Chivhu| The husband of a police officer based at Sadza Growth Point stole a laptop from a house at the local police camp and hid the gadget in the refrigerator.
A woman who stays at Sadza Police Camp Revai Gumbo, left her house for a few minutes to pick her child from the neighbourhood. When she returned she was shocked to notice the door at her room had been opened and an HP255 Laptop had been stolen.
She immediately made a report at the camp. The police began to search the houses at the camp.
They then approached Sindiso Ncube’s house and knocked at the door but he did not respond. Ncube is married to a police officer.
Police officers then advised Ncube who was hiding behind a bed they were looking for a stolen laptop.
The police officers then forcibly entered the room and found the laptop hidden in the refrigerator.
“Constable Muchato and Sergeant Chikwema searched the house and a jittery Ncube was found in possession of the laptop (in the fridge),”the court heard.
The matter was heard before Chivhu Residential Magistrate Story Rushambwa last week.
Magistrate Rushambwa said Ncube had embarrassed his wife by stealing the laptop.
Ncube was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 12 months were suspended for five years.
The stolen laptop is valued at $300.
Police now know that they have a right to anything that belongs to anyone. When the officer took the laptop, he did not see any harm. They always take some of their loot to higher offices, which legitimatices their illegal behaviors. For example, there is a place along Robson Manyika. Police have opened up business where they print receipt books that they use at road blocks. At each road block, only one receipt book is genuinely official. One officer that I know said, “We get a bunch of those [receipt] books and then we pick the private ones from our lockers. Then we go out, to make dollars for govt., using both theirs and ours (books).”
So for this officer, he did not realize he was doing wrong until he was reminded not to steal from one of his own. It’s legal to take from the Provo.