News / National
WhatsApp messages sell out thief
31 May 2014 at 06:45hrs | Views
A MASVINGO serial thief was sold out by WhatsApp messages he sent to friends of one of his victims, leading to his arrest.
Funwell Bvudzijena, 41, of Mucheke suburb was convicted on his own plea of guilty for seven counts of unlawful entry and theft by Masvingo provincial magistrate Langton Ndokera on Thursday.
The magistrate slapped him with 29 months in prison, eight months for first and second counts, eight for count three and four and eight for counts six and seven.
He also got five months for the fifth count of theft from a motor vehicle.
Prosecutors say Bvunzijena would wake up at night, sneak into residents' houses, break into cars before making good with property ranging from cellphones and car radios and disappearing.
Bvudzijena blamed evil spirits when asked why he committed the crimes.
"I don't have a clear answer to the question my worship. I think it is the work of evil spirits. I strongly believe that some of my relatives are responsible for this and they have cast a bad spell on me. I just feel I should deprive people of their belongings and sometimes I regret after committing the crime," he said.
Prosecuting, James Murambiza said Bvudzijena stole a white Blackberry cellphone worth $110 from Stephen Manyanga's house in Mucheke F sometime in January. On May 13 around 2AM he went to Lawrence Chibaira's house in the same area and fished out a Nokia Navigator, Samsung Galaxy, MTN, Samsung E250 and Nokia 1208 cellphones worth $133 through the window.
On the same day he went to Tawanda Maimba's house in the same suburb and broke into a parked vehicle where he stole a silver Pioneer car radio.
The court heard that on the following day Bvudzijena proceeded to Mucheke D at night where he entered Kudzaishe Gamira's house and stole Nokia 201 and Blackberry cellphones worth $190.
Bvudzijena was arrested after he inserted his sim card into one of the complainants' cellphones and started using the WhatsApp account of his victim.
He was apprehended when Gamira's friends tracked his communication trends and alerted the owner, leading to his arrest following a formal police report.
The stolen goods were recovered.
Funwell Bvudzijena, 41, of Mucheke suburb was convicted on his own plea of guilty for seven counts of unlawful entry and theft by Masvingo provincial magistrate Langton Ndokera on Thursday.
The magistrate slapped him with 29 months in prison, eight months for first and second counts, eight for count three and four and eight for counts six and seven.
He also got five months for the fifth count of theft from a motor vehicle.
Prosecutors say Bvunzijena would wake up at night, sneak into residents' houses, break into cars before making good with property ranging from cellphones and car radios and disappearing.
Bvudzijena blamed evil spirits when asked why he committed the crimes.
"I don't have a clear answer to the question my worship. I think it is the work of evil spirits. I strongly believe that some of my relatives are responsible for this and they have cast a bad spell on me. I just feel I should deprive people of their belongings and sometimes I regret after committing the crime," he said.
Prosecuting, James Murambiza said Bvudzijena stole a white Blackberry cellphone worth $110 from Stephen Manyanga's house in Mucheke F sometime in January. On May 13 around 2AM he went to Lawrence Chibaira's house in the same area and fished out a Nokia Navigator, Samsung Galaxy, MTN, Samsung E250 and Nokia 1208 cellphones worth $133 through the window.
On the same day he went to Tawanda Maimba's house in the same suburb and broke into a parked vehicle where he stole a silver Pioneer car radio.
The court heard that on the following day Bvudzijena proceeded to Mucheke D at night where he entered Kudzaishe Gamira's house and stole Nokia 201 and Blackberry cellphones worth $190.
Bvudzijena was arrested after he inserted his sim card into one of the complainants' cellphones and started using the WhatsApp account of his victim.
He was apprehended when Gamira's friends tracked his communication trends and alerted the owner, leading to his arrest following a formal police report.
The stolen goods were recovered.
Source - chronicle
