Habitual thief targets Zimbabwe govt offices

An unrepentant thief, Romeo Kurai Pemba, has been charged with nine counts of unlawful entry after breaking into several government offices - including the office of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe, who oversees the police.

Pemba appeared before Harare Magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzai yesterday, where he was denied bail. The court heard that he has a record of similar crimes, having previously been convicted for breaking into the Harare Magistrates' Court in 2016.

Prosecutor Takudzwa Jambawo told the court that on June 18, Pemba unlawfully entered the Office of the President and Cabinet located on the 17th floor of Mukwati Building in Harare. He allegedly forced open the door to the office occupied by Ulathi Hlongwane and stole two HP laptops, a keyboard, and central processing units.

In a separate incident at the same premises, Pemba is accused of stealing three All-in-One HP desktop computers.

On July 4, he reportedly broke into the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) offices at Kaguvi Building, where he stole two All-in-One HP desktops.

Pemba allegedly continued his spree on August 2 by breaking into the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage offices at Mukwati Building, stealing four All-in-One Core i7 computers. Later that month, on August 29, he reportedly struck again at the same ministry, taking an All-in-One computer, an HP power pack, and two novels.

That same night, he allegedly broke into the offices responsible for Gender Mainstreaming, Industry and Wellness, also located at Mukwati Building, and made off with another All-in-One desktop computer.

In his most recent break-in, Pemba allegedly targeted Minister Kazembe Kazembe's section within the Ministry of Home Affairs, stealing an All-in-One computer and a power pack.

He was remanded in custody pending trial.