A truck driver’s scheme to sell his employer’s property and report to the police that he had been robbed backfired when he was caught in the lie and arrested.
Musa Fakudze (46) of Mankayane was arrested together with four men whom he had initially accused of hijacking and robbing him. The incident allegedly occurred on Saturday at Mahosha in the Shiselweni region.
Fakudze was employed as a truck driver and had reportedly travelled from Richards Bay in South Africa transporting a consignment destined for Hlatikulu.
According to information gathered during investigations, Fakudze allegedly offered a lift to four men along the way, only for the group to later allegedly work together in stealing his employer’s property.
It was reported that while at Mahosha, Fakudze stopped the truck and allegedly sold diesel as well as a large consignment of fertiliser bags he had been transporting.
Sources close to the investigations said the stolen fuel, which filled nine 30-litre containers, was allegedly drained directly from the truck driven by Fakudze. The estimated value of the stolen fuel was placed at E1 864.
The suspects are further alleged to have stolen 82 bags of fertiliser weighing 50 kilograms each. The fertiliser formed part of the consignment Fakudze had ferried from South Africa to Hlatikulu.
The estimated value of the stolen fertiliser was E43 560, bringing the total value of the allegedly stolen property to E45 424.
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After the alleged theft, Fakudze reportedly proceeded to Nhlangano Police Station where he filed a report claiming he had been hijacked and robbed of both the load he was transporting and diesel that had allegedly been siphoned from the truck.
However, police investigations soon uncovered inconsistencies in the driver’s account.
Following several leads and further inquiries into the purported robbery, investigators reportedly discovered that the incident had been staged and that Fakudze had instead sold the property to the four men.
The other suspects were identified as Madoda Malinga (47), Xolani Mandlazi (32), Mpendulo Ngwenya (33), all from Makhonza, and Mpumelelo Mkhonza (35) of Davies.
The four men were subsequently arrested and charged with theft together with Fakudze.
Further police investigations reportedly led to the recovery of all the stolen property.
The five accused persons appeared before the Nhlangano Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
According to the charge sheet presented before court, Fakudze, Malinga, Mandlazi and Ngwenya allegedly acted jointly in stealing property valued at E45 424.
Fakudze also faced two additional charges of defeating or obstructing the course of justice after allegedly making a false report to the police claiming that he had been robbed while allegedly knowing that he had sold the diesel and fertiliser himself.
A third charge faced by Fakudze related to another alleged theft incident in which he and Mkhonza allegedly stole 85 litres of diesel worth E2 635 on the same day.
The court remanded all five accused persons in custody before later admitting them to bail.
Bail was set at an amount equivalent to half the value of the allegedly stolen property. For Fakudze, this translated to approximately E24 000, while the remaining accused persons were granted bail of about E22 000 each.
