Cleaner steals US$7k Worth of Printer Cartridges from govt office

Munyaradzi Mashiri- Court Correspondent 

A 35-year-old cleaner has appeared in court facing charges of unlawful entry and theft after he was allegedly caught stealing printer cartridges worth US$7,680 from a government office.

Charles Chingosho appeared before Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo charged with unlawful entry in aggravated circumstances.

The complainant in the matter is the State, represented by Farai Chisango Magodi, an administration officer at the Salaries Service Bureau (SSB) housed at Mukwati Building in Harare.

According to prosecutor Takudzwa Jambawu, between March 2025 and May 2025, Chingosho, whose duties were limited to cleaning the 6th floor, repeatedly entered a restricted area on the 8th floor without authorization.

It is alleged that on May 9, around 7:00 AM, he entered the 8th floor and stole sealed boxes of Printronix P8000/P7000 Extended Life printer cartridges. He then hid the cartridges in a trash bin, intending to smuggle them out of the building disguised as waste.

His actions reportedly raised suspicion, prompting the complainant to review CCTV footage. The footage revealed that Chingosho had been taking new, sealed cartridges and concealing them among used ones to pass them off as rubbish.

Subsequent investigations showed that he had stolen 12 boxes of cartridges over several occasions. He was later arrested and voluntarily led detectives to the recovery of seven boxes valued at US$4,480.

The total value of the stolen cartridges is pegged at US$7 680, with US$4 480 worth recovered.