A Gweru-based policeman, Musa Mukuli, who was accused last year of stealing copper cables from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Precabe Farm in Sherwood, Kwekwe, has been acquitted of the charges. Alongside Mukuli, three other accused persons, William Urayayi, Silas Musindo, and James Mulongo, were also cleared of the allegations.
Kwekwe provincial magistrate Mildred Matuvi ruled that the State failed to provide sufficient evidence linking the four individuals to the theft of copper cables from Mnangagwa’s farm. The ruling came after the accused were represented in court by Gweru lawyer Esau Mandipa of Mutatu and Mandipa Legal Practice.
Although Mulongo was found guilty of another charge related to stealing solar panels at Mnangagwa’s farm, the other three defendants were acquitted of all charges.
The incident allegedly occurred on September 14 last year around 11 pm when Mukuli, Urayayi, Musindo, and Mulongo reportedly conspired to steal solar panels from Mnangagwa’s Brownland Estate Farm, adjacent to Precabe Farm.
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According to court documents, the accused individuals stole three solar panels that supplied power to a borehole and concealed them in a nearby bush.
However, security personnel from Precabe Farm reportedly spotted the gang in a silver Honda Fit (registration number AEA 6642) during the theft attempt. While the other three suspects managed to escape, Mukuli was apprehended at the scene.
Further investigations revealed that Mukuli was also implicated in another incident on September 7, where he allegedly participated in the theft of copper cables from Precabe Farm. Alongside the other accused, Musa Mukuli purportedly stole armoured cables connecting the transformer to a pump, stripping off the copper cables from the insulation rubber in a nearby field.
During the theft, a water pump attendant at Precabe Farm, Liberty Zunga, identified Mukuli as one of the perpetrators.