Zim man gets 75 years in S.A prison for housebreaking

A 23-YEAR-OLD Zimbabwean man who has been involved in a spate of house-breakings in Thohoyandou, Limpopo province in South Africa, was last week sentenced to an effective 75 years in jail.

Midus Masavangeni pleaded not guilty to eight counts of housebreaking but was convicted by Mr Mike Coetzee at the Sibasa regional court.

The court heard that between November 2010 and December 2012, Masavangeni and his accomplices who are still at large descended on several houses in Thohoyandou Unit D, Thohoyandou Block G as well as Miluwani Unit C where they broke into the properties and stole household appliances. The stolen property included plasma television sets, laptops, money and cell phones.

Masavangeni and his accomplices targeted houses with poor security facilities, where they would steal the goods before later smuggling the loot to Zimbabwe for sale.

Acting on a tip-off, police arrested Masavangeni at Maniini village outside Thohoyandou. However, his accomplices are still on the run and police have since launched a manhunt with the assistance of Interpol.