Bulawayo woman jailed for theft

A 52-YEAR-OLD woman from Bulawayo has been jailed for eight months for stealing a cellphone and cash.

Lindiwe Ncube of Makokoba suburb and her accomplice, who is still on the run, hatched a plan and mugged Ms Janet Ndlovu (25) of Lobengula suburb before robbing her of  an Itel A56, R50 and a plastic bag containing baby clothes.

The dramatic incident occurred on April 25 at corner Leopold Takawira Avenue and Joshua Nkomo Street Bulawayo.

Ncube was once convicted on two counts of fraud and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The imprisonment was wholly suspended on condition of good behavior and that she  completed 210 hours of community service.

The court heard that Ms Ndlovu was heading to Zapalala supermarket in the city center to board a commuter omnibus before she met Ncube.

Ncube approached Ms Ndlovu under the guise of a friendly interaction.

During their conversation, the two were joined by an unknown woman who dropped a bunch of folded United States dollar notes.

Ncube picked the cash and informed both the stranger and Ms Ndlovu that they have to cross the alley to share the money.

She went to count the money at a secret place and she came back saying the money was US$ 800.

Ncube suggested that Ms Ndlovu goes with the stranger to share the money on condition that she left her belongings as surety that she will come back.

She handed over a bulged green sock to Ms Ndlovu where she claimed to have put the money.

Ms Ndlovu rushed to a hiding place to divide the cash leaving behind her belongings. As she unfolded the sock, she was shocked to discover folded square papers inside.

The complainant rushed back and found the suspects had disappeared. Ms Ndlovu then made a police report.

The vice came to light when police showed Ms Ndlovu different photographs of suspected culprits. She positively identified Ncube and her accomplice leading to Ncube's arrest.

An identification parade was conducted and Ms Ndlovu caught up with Ncube again.

Ncube denied one charge of theft when she appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Nomagugu Maphosa.

During cross examination Ncube denied  having met Ms Ndlovu in the city center.

However, Ncube claimed that she was at TM Hyper supermarket opposite Bulawayo Centre (BC) selling weaves with her colleague, Fungai Njabulo.

To support the defense case, Ncube led her evidence from her friend Ms Njabulo who confessed that they were together for the entire day at TM Hyper supermarket not selling weaves but changing money.

Before passing the judgement, Ms Maphosa said the State found incriminating evidence against Ncube.

Ms Maphosa said there was corroborating evidence from Ms Ndlovu in that she managed to positively identify the accused twice on both identification processes.

She further reiterated that Ms Ndlovu had a daylight advantage as she spent more than 10 minutes with the accused and her accomplice hence, she could not be mistaken for the accused's identity.

The magistrate said both the accused and the defense witness stated that they were at TM Hyper opposite BC on that particular day but varied on what the accused was doing.

She said their defense did not corroborate and it shows that the accused and the witness were lying before the court.

Ms Maphosa said the State managed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and a custodial sentence cannot be escaped.

Ncube asked for lenience from the court when passing a sentence and if possible, pay a fine.

In passing the sentence, Ms Maphosa said Ncube was not a good candidate for any sentence beside a custodial one as she is a repeat offender. She sentenced her to serve an effective eight months in jail.

Prosecuting, Mr Owen Mugari said on April 25 at around 11AM at corner Leopold Takawira Avenue and Joshua Nkomo Street in Bulawayo the accused connived with her colleague who is still at large and took Lindiwe Ncube's Itel A56, $50 cash and a plastic bag containing baby clothes.

The value of the stolen cellphone and cash is $9 794 and nothing was recovered.