BULAWAYO - A teacher and two villagers from Nkayi, Matabeleland North have been jailed for two years for stealing computers that were donated by President Robert Mugabe to a school in Nkayi.President Mugabe donated hundreds of computers to rural schools at the
height of the election campaigns last year, with the opposition MDC
accusing the 85-year-old leader of vote buying.
Most of the computers are lying idle as the rural schools have no electricity to power them.
Guwe Secondary School in Nkayi was one of the recipients. The computers
lay idle there until Thembani Ndlovu, a teacher at the school,
allegedly connived with two villagers – Phathisani Moyo and Nqobani
Ncube – to steal them.
This was revealed in court last week by state prosecutor, Maxwell Hapanyengwi, during the trial of the accused.
Ndlovu used to keep keys to the storeroom where the computers were being kept, the court was told.
The court was told that the three stole five computers, which they
intended selling in Bulawayo. However, luck ran out for them, leading
to their arrest before they sold the computers.
Magistrate, Thabekhulu Dube sentenced them to two years imprisonment
after the accused pleaded guilty to theft charges. Six months of the
sentence were suspended on condition of good behavior. Natasha Hove