By Judith Nyuke
Three men from Chinhoyi have been sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty of stealing property worth US$114 000 following a failed mining syndicate.
Initially, Nelson Mukwazhi, Takunda Mazambani, and Tatenda Nhumbe were sentenced to eight years in prison. However, three years were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour, and another three years were suspended on the condition that they restitute the complainant US$114 000.
The remaining two years will be served in jail.
While convicting the trio, a Chinhoyi magistrate said the State had managed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused persons committed the crime.
“The accused persons resorted to self-help which is not in accordance with the law when they took the property that forms part of a partnership. They did not wait for the dissolution of the partnership before they acted.
“To compound matters the accused persons have not disclosed the location of the property. The offence of theft being a continuous offence and the complainant unaware of the location of the properties the intention to permanently deprive her of the property continues to apply. The accused persons cannot therefore turn the other side and state that the complainant’s remedy lies in civil law when the actual and legal intention of theft has been satisfied at law.
“Mukwazhi in terms of section 121(2)(b) of the Criminal Law Code is an accomplice to theft. He assisted Mazambani and Nhumbe in taking the property from the mine to an undisclosed location. Mazambana and Nhumbe are the principal offenders who conjured the physical and mental element to commit the offence,” said the magistrate.
The complainant in this case is Florence Samaneka.
During the trial, Samaneka testified that she had entered into a mining partnership with Mazambani and Nhumbe.
She stated that she was unaware of Mukwazhi’s involvement until the property was removed from the site.
The court heard that Mazambani and Nhumbe contributed mining equipment to the partnership, including excavators, front-end loaders, and other mining paraphernalia. Samaneka, for her part, provided a 150-tonne wash plant.
The parties prepared a draft partnership agreement, but the accused did not sign it. They proceeded with operations without a written contract in place. During cross-examination, Samaneka was asked whether she had signed the draft agreement.
She denied the claim stating that her signature had been forged.
It was the State’s case that on the 26th July 2025 and at Gonakudzingwa Mining Syndicate, Chinhoyi Mukwazhi, Mazambani and Nhumbe took property that includes wash plant, water pumps, fuel pump, welding machine, batteries, jumpers, generators and helmets without Florence Samaneka’s knowledge.
