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Thieving businessman jailed 6 months

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A MUTARE businessman, Patrick Kupenga, was yesterday slapped with a six-month jail term or optionally pays $600 as fine for stealing property worth $59 000 from his partner.

A MUTARE businessman, Patrick Kupenga, was yesterday slapped with a six-month jail term or optionally pays $600 as fine for stealing property worth $59 000 from his partner, Hlanganiso Matangaidze.

OBEY MANAYITI STAFF REPORTER

Matangaidze, who runs several business entities in Mutare, is the president of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce and was in a timber producing partnership, Matan Lumber, with the Kupenga. Mutare magistrate Anniah Ndiraya gave Kupenga (59) up to December 31 to pay the money or risk going to prison.

In addition to the sentence, Kupenga also had six months wholly suspended on condition that he would not commit a similar offence in the next five years.

It was the State’s case led by Malvern Musarurwa that on June 29 this year, Kupenga went to the company’s workshop accompanied by his son, Jeffrey, and informed the security guards manning the workshop that he was taking away some machinery. Part of the machinery included a ripsaw, multi-ripsaw, cutter moulder, saw sharpener, stretch bench, lift trolleys, cross-cut machinery, jack saw, two finger jointer, daylight press and a compressor, among others.

Part of the machinery in question was brought into the business by Matangaidze to boost their loss-making timber business. The court heard that the equipment was then loaded into a 30-tonne truck.

However, security personnel at the premises called the police who reacted by taking the accused to the police station.

The court heard that Kupenga’s son used a forklift to force-open the gate damaging it in the process. Jeffrey drove off the loaded truck.

Kupenga was arrested after investigations by the complainant led to the recovery of the equipment.

The two have a pending matter before the courts for the dissolution of their partnership, but Kupenga had told the court that he was taking away the machinery for the good of the business because he was the one managing the timber side.