Tendai Muererwa
Chipinge — A routine police investigation into stolen irrigation equipment took an unexpected turn in the Sabi Valley after officers stumbled upon an illicit mbanje plantation while searching a suspect’s homestead.
​The incident unfolded on July 30, 2026, when Blessing Kamhoti of Sabi Bananas walked into ZRP Sabi to report a case of missing irrigation pipes. Pointing the finger of suspicion toward the local community, Kamhoti’s report set off a swift response from law enforcement officers eager to recover the vital farming equipment.
​Acting on the tip-off, a team of police details tracked their primary suspect, Cephas Chirume, 27, to his residence located at Farm 9 Compound. Upon arrival, the officers apprehended Chirume and informed him of the allegations of theft hanging over his head. Maintaining his composure, the young resident flatly denied any involvement in the disappearance of the farm pipes.
​However, as officers conducted a thorough inspection of the premises and searched the surrounding garden space, a breakthrough occurred. Kamhoti, who had accompanied the patrol, immediately identified his stolen irrigation pipes neatly tucked away on the property.
​While securing the stolen property, the observant law enforcement team noticed something else entirely out of place among the domestic crops: a thriving mbanje planation. A closer inspection revealed 27 mature plants of dagga carefully cultivated within the garden grounds. The illicit green harvest was promptly uprooted and seized as physical evidence.
​Confirming the dramatic turn of events, Manicaland Province acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka noted that the suspect was immediately taken into custody. Chirume is currently being held at ZRP Sabi, where he faces mounting legal jeopardy as he prepares to answer both for the theft of agricultural equipment and the unlawful cultivation of a prohibited substance.
