A BULAWAYO-BASED panel beater has appeared in court for allegedly stealing a client’s vehicle from the employer's workshop and abandoning it after it ran out of fuel.
Polite Ndlovu (24), of Westgate NRZ Compound, appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mark Dzira facing a charge of motor vehicle theft.
He pleaded guilty and was remanded in custody to March 23 for sentencing.
Ndlovu told the court that he intended to use the vehicle and return it to the workshop, but failed to do so after it ran out of fuel and he did not have money to refill.
The court heard that the complaint, Blessing Gombe, is a panel beater operating from BBG Panel Beaters at the CSC Complex in Bulawayo.
On March 5, Gombe received a silver Mercedes-Benz from its owner, Siduduzile Sibanda, for re-spraying.
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Prosecutor Hazel Ncube said Gombe assigned Ndlovu to work on the vehicle.
After knocking off on the same day, the car was parked outside the workshop with its doors locked and windows closed, while the keys were in a damaged refrigerator.
The court heard that on the night of March 7, Ndlovu entered the workshop, took the car keys and drove off without the owner’s consent.
The vehicle was recovered in Nketa, Bulawayo, where it had been abandoned without keys after running out of fuel.
A police report led to Ndlovu’s arrest.
The vehicle, valued at US$7 000, was recovered.