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Mercy Kamanura

Fungai Lupande Court Reporter
Black Opal Face of Zimbabwe second princess Mercy Kamanura was last Friday convicted and fined $80 for stealing a jumpsuit worth $40 from Edgars. Kamanura (24) of Unit N, Chitungwiza, pleaded not guilty to theft, but was convicted owing to overwhelming evidence against her.

Harare magistrate Mr Batanai Madzingira fined Kamanura $80 (or two months in prison).

A further sentence of two months jail was suspended on condition that Kamanura does not commit an offence involving theft in the next five years.

In her defence, Kamanura told the court that the jumpsuit entered her handbag miraculously.

Speaking through her lawyer, Mr Lovemore Mataruse, the model said she was not aware how the jumpsuit ended in her handbag.

“The charge can be interpreted as attempted theft as she had not yet made her way out of the shop when the unaccounted for jumpsuit was retrieved from her bag,” said Mr Mataruse.

“She was shocked to see the jumpsuit in her handbag. She wrote a statement admitting to the offence under duress.”

Prosecutor Mr Progress Maringamoyo proved that Kamanura used to frequent Edgars VIP customer stores. Sometime in September she went to the Edgars branch at the corner of Kwame Nkrumah Avenue and First Street around 5pm, said she wanted to buy clothes and took three dresses to the fitting room.

She later emerged from the fitting room with two dresses and returned them.

When a security guard searched her at the exit point, he found a jumpsuit in her handbag. The model lied that she bought the jumpsuit at Edgars Joina City branch.

The alert security guard dashed to the fitting room where Kamanura had tried on the dresses and found the price tag that had been attached to the jumpsuit discarded. Kamanura failed to prove that she bought the jumpsuit and was arrested.