Two Harare men were caught red-handed vandalising TelOne underground copper cables along Warburn Road in Mabelreign on March 19, 2026, disrupting telecommunications services.
Ignatius Magara (24) and Onias Marenga (19) pleaded guilty to charges of contravening the Postal and Telecommunications Act when they appeared before Regional Magistrate Fadzai Mthombeni.
The pair was remanded in custody until Monday for sentencing.
Prosecutor and TelOne loss control officer Boniface Chitungo told the court that Magara and Marenga had conspired to steal the cables.
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Armed with tools, the duo accessed a TelOne manhole and cut a 15-metre section of active 800-pair underground copper cables.
They were intercepted by TelOne loss control officers who had been alerted by the system’s alarms.
Marenga was caught stripping the cable, while Magara was apprehended following a chase.
The stolen cables were recovered, and both suspects were handed over to the police.
The prosecution stressed the seriousness of the offence, citing the disruption to services and the financial losses caused by such acts of vandalism.
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