Albert Chaba is accused of stealing 149 pipes/columns, 41 shafts/rods, one pump head and three borehole casings valued at P130,000 between September and October 2011 at Dukwi. The property belongs to African Copper Mine. The first prosecution witness, Dominic Khumokhumo, a security officer at the mine told the court that on realising that some materials at the boreholes had been stolen, they decided to conduct a search at the nearby cattle posts. The search did not yield results until January 2012 when they heard that Chaba was in possession of items similar to the mine’s stolen property. The matter was reported to Dukwi Police Station and some of the stolen items were found on Chaba’s farm. Khumokhumo said they roped in Kenanao Sebinyane, a mechanic at the mine to help identify the property.
Under cross-examination from defence attorney Wada Nfila, Khumokhumo and Sebinyane said the pipes have no distinctive features that they can be identified with. Khumokhumo conceded that they do not have documents to prove that the stolen property belongs to the mine. Sebinyane said that the items belong to the mine because they are used for industrial purposes.He said the pipes use a lot of pressure to pump water but conceded that African Copper is not the only entity that uses the items.
