Botswana nationals in Zimbabwe court over alleged car theft

Two Botswana nationals have appeared before the Bulawayo Regional Court facing charges of stealing a luxury vehicle from a South African car rental company and allegedly bringing it into Zimbabwe after tampering with its identity.

Tumelo Kahuure (32) and Cash Monhlanka (42), both from Gaborone, pleaded not guilty when they appeared before regional magistrate Lungile Ncube on charges of theft.

The case was postponed to April 28 after State witnesses based in South Africa failed to attend court, delaying proceedings.

The accused are represented separately, with Kahuure defended by Simbarashe Innocent Madzivire of Mashayamombe Law Firm, while Monhlanka is represented by Tawanda Tavengwa.

According to prosecutor Sehliselo Khumalo, the complainant is Brown Shirley Anne Francis (34), an employee of Avis Car Rental in Durban, South Africa.

The State alleges that on January 16, 2026, the pair, acting in common purpose with an unidentified accomplice, hired a Toyota Fortuner valued at approximately R800,000 from Avis Car Rental in Durban. They allegedly agreed to return the vehicle on January 29 but failed to do so.

Court documents further state that instead of returning the vehicle, the accused allegedly removed the South African registration plates and replaced them with fake Botswana plates bearing registration number B825 BWT.

It is also alleged that the vehicle's chassis number was tampered with and replaced with a false identifier before the SUV was driven across the border into Zimbabwe.

The matter remains before the courts as investigations continue.