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Thomas Nyathi and Tekla Gunhe

Nokusa Masuku, Court Reporter
A maid and a gardener from Bulawayo stole gold jewellery worth $30,000 from their employer and flogged it for less than $200.
Christina Muller, 50, from Bellevue in Bulawayo, left the two in charge of her house while she went to Germany where she is employed.

When she returned home last Friday, she was shocked to find her prized jewellery collection missing.

Muller left her bedroom keys with the maid Tekla Gunhe, 40, who conspired with gardener Thomas Nyathi, 27, to loot their boss’ jewellery.

The two appeared before magistrate Singandu Jele yesterday facing a theft charge.

They both pleaded guilty and were remanded in custody to today for sentencing.

Prosecuting, Tony Kamudyariwa told the court that between September last year and January this year, Nyathi and Gunhe stole 13 gold finger rings, seven gold bracelets and five pairs of gold earrings.

The stolen jewellery was valued at $30,000 and nothing was recovered.

When Muller returned from Germany last week, she discovered that her jewellery was missing.

She confronted both Nyathi and Gunhe, but they denied stealing the jewellery.

She reported the matter to the police leading to the pair’s arrest.

Nyathi told the court that he stole the jewellery because he wanted to use the money to buy food.

“Your worship I admit to the charge, I stole because of hunger, there was no food so I wanted to use the money to buy some food. I can’t raise $30,000 but I can work for Muller without payment as compensation,” said Nyathi.

Gunhe said she did not know what prompted her to betray her employer’s trust.

Magistrate Jele told the two that the amount they had stolen was too much and it was impossible for them to raise the money by working for Muller without payment.