A 24-year-old man from Dulibadzimu, Beitbridge, has been apprehended for allegedly staging the theft of a rented vehicle.
Douglas Chinoona reportedly conspired with a friend to smuggle the car into Lusaka, Zambia, with the intention of selling it there.
In a statement to H-Metro, Chinoona claimed he lost US$2,400 meant for a lobola ceremony and was renting a white Toyota GD6 (AGE 4106) from Good 2 Go Car Rental while staying at a Harare lodge.
He stated that he had booked the lodge for one night on his way to Murehwa for the ceremony. Chinoona claimed he was awakened by lodge staff who told him that two men arrived with keys, asserting they were sent by the car rental company to retrieve the vehicle. He subsequently reported the theft at the Mabelreign Police Station.
However, a statement from Good 2 Go Car Rental, released on Friday, indicated that an investigation by the Vehicle Theft Squad (VTS) found Chinoona’s claims to be false. The inquiry revealed that he had colluded with his friend to export the vehicle unlawfully.
Chinoona has been arrested and is facing charges of vehicle theft and providing misleading information to law enforcement.
The car rental company emphasized that Chinoona neither had the funds for the lobola ceremony nor any genuine intention to pay. Their statement clarified:
“We were alerted to an article in H-Metro on November 1, 2024, which claimed that Douglas Chinoona was robbed of our Toyota Hilux and US$2,400 allegedly for lobola.
The truth is that we rented the vehicle to Chinoona on Sunday, October 27. The next day, he contacted us to report that the vehicle was stolen from a lodge in Mabelreign, which he also reported to the police.
Following an investigation by the VTS, it became evident that Chinoona fabricated the robbery and conspired with a friend to illegally export the car to Lusaka to sell it.
He has been taken into custody, facing charges related to vehicle theft and providing false information to the police, and he had no actual funds for lobola. This was merely a tactic to deceive both Good 2 Go Car Rental and law enforcement.”
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