Police Officer Acquitted in Alleged Theft Case Involving President Mnangagwa

In recent developments, Musa Mukuli (40), a police officer previously accused of theft of copper cables from President Mnangagwa’s Precabe farm, has been acquitted. However, his co-accused, James Mulongo, was convicted of a separate charge related to the theft of solar panels from the same farm, resulting in a 14-year jail sentence.

Following legal proceedings overseen by Kwekwe Magistrate Mildred Matuvi, Mukuli, stationed at Nehanda Police Station in Mkoba, Gweru, was granted freedom last week alongside two other defendants, Silas Musindo and William Urayai. Represented by Esau Mandipa of Mutatu and Mandipa Legal Practitioners, the trio saw their case dismissed due to insufficient evidence presented by the State.

The accusations against them stemmed from events alleged to have occurred on September 14, 2023, around 11 pm. Mukuli, Musindo, Mulongo, and Urayayi were purportedly involved in a plot to steal solar panels from Mnangagwa’s Brownland Estate Farm, situated near Precabe.

It was claimed that the group absconded with three solar panels, vital for powering a borehole on the farm, and secreted them away in nearby foliage. Their activities were reportedly observed by a security officer at Precabe, who noticed them driving a Honda Fit bearing registration number AEA 6642. Upon detection, the three accomplices fled, leaving Mukuli behind, who was promptly apprehended.

Subsequent investigations uncovered further allegations, with a water pump attendant at Precabe Farm, Liberty Zunga, identifying Mukuli as one of the individuals implicated in the theft of copper cables from the farm on September 7, 2023.