A 31-year-old Harare man has been jailed for an effective four years and eight months after breaking into a house in Belvedere, stealing meat from a fridge and attempting to drive away in a Honda CR-V while the owner hid in his bedroom.
Benson Jakarasi, of no fixed abode, was convicted of aggravated unlawful entry and theft of a motor vehicle by the Harare Magistrates’ Court.
The court sentenced him to 12 months for unlawful entry and four years for theft of a motor vehicle.
The court heard that on September 21, 2026, at about 11.30pm, Jakarasi scaled the durawall at Number 10 McIlwaine Crescent Road in Belvedere, the residence of 58-year-old Malcolm Thorncroft, and forced open the main door.
Prosecutors told the court that he entered the dining room, opened the fridge and stole five kilogrammes of meat valued at US$25.
Thorncroft noticed the intruder, locked himself inside his bedroom and alerted the police.
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It is alleged that Jakarasi then took the keys to Thorncroft’s Honda CR-V from a toolbox, went to the garage and began reversing the vehicle.
Detectives arrived as he was reversing the vehicle, fired a warning shot and Jakarasi fled back into the house, where he hid behind a couch.
Police searched the premises and arrested him. The meat and vehicle were recovered.
In sentencing, the court suspended three months of the 12-month sentence for five years on condition of good behaviour.
A further one month was suspended on condition that he restitutes US$25 to the complainant.
He will serve an effective four years and eight months in prison.
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