Ron Johnstone-Robertson

Sadly, and once again I must advise you of the passing of another Dagaboy.

Ron Johnstone-Robertson passed away in Cape Town on the 7^th - he had been suffering with cancer.

I do apologize for the delay in sending out the news but for various reasons this was not possible,

Ron joined the Department in 1976 and was posted to the Falls; he resigned in ’79 whilst stationed at Matopos and emigrated to South Africa. He leaves behind his dear wife Dia and son Alex.

 

In this time of grief and sadness Dia and Alex need our support. Please send letters of condolence and sympathy to rondia@telkomsa.net

MAPP Newsletter

MAPP NEWSLETTER

 

“ If it was like this before then poaching was not even going to this extent. But good luck to the

animals and fish now they have good Sheppard’s” quote: Philip Mugwisa. This post appeared on our

facebook page, together with many others from Makande locals, not all as flattering, but we are

encouraged to note that some of the locals are concerned about their heritage and we plan to work with

them in our ongoing anti-poaching exercises.

 

Both water based and land based initiatives have achieved tremendous results in March / April.

 

WATER BASED OPERATIONS

 

TOTAL PATROL HOURS 279hrs

NETS RECOVERED 10880 meters

FISH RECOVERED 830 kg

FISHING CAMPS DESTROYED 1

ARRESTS 44

BEST RESULT IN ONE DAY 17th March 2014, arrested 16 fish poachers, 3 illegal kapenta rigs, and

recovered 3 dinghies.

 

Our operative is now using one of the two pelicans very kindly donated to MAPP. The workhorse

donated by the Tashinga Initiative is receiving a minor facelift before heading off to Tashinga where it

will be based and used in anti-poaching operations in and around Tashinga, including the Ume River. The

latter is suffering heightened fish poaching activity, probably as a consequence of our continued

presence in the Eastern basin. Certainly the Zambian Fish poachers are now targeting this area and just

last Thursday DPWMA together with MAPP arrested four Zambian fish poachers destined for this area.

 

LAND BASED OPERATIONS

 

Officially commenced operations 2nd March 2014

9th March 2014, arrested two persons with ivory on the periphery of the Park. One

sentenced to 9 years, case remanded for accomplice

6th April 2014 Four persons arrested in two separate patrols on the Parks boundary, all

of whom were in possession of Ivory. 2 sentenced to three years

imprisonment, two remanded in custody to 29th May.

 

These arrests came on the back of a two week operation conducted by, DPWMA ( Investigations

Department), ZRP, ZRP Support Unit and MAPP. We were privileged to be part of this operation and

delighted to be able to lend much needed logistical support. By all accounts this operation has sent a

shock wave through the poaching community, and there have been no new elephant carcasses

discovered in the Park since then. That might simply mean that the poachers are not as blatant or

arrogant as they were not long ago when we were finding carcasses on the shoreline. The game of cat

and mouse begins.

 

The MAPP fund raising event held in Kariba over the Easter was a great success. Whilst the primary

objective was to raise awareness for MAPP, we were secretly hoping to make some money out of the

event. We were successful in both departments and managed to raise $2600.00. We would like to thank

all those who attended and gave of their support, we hope that you enjoyed yourselves, and very big

thank you to the Kariba community who gave us tremendous support and assistance.

Our raffle tickets are out there and apparently selling well. There are still tickets available so if you have

not yet had your arm bent , tickets are available at Billys meats and Master Angler. Alternatively e-mail

me and I will be happy to assist you.

 

In closing I would like to leave you with a few inspirational pictures taken by Rae Koakes’ who is

presently stationed in the Matusadona National Park on a lion research programme. Not much is known

about the lions of the Park and environmental dynamics have changed substantially since the lake filled.

Prior to that the shoreline supported huge buffalo populations, the pantry for what was then known to

be the second largest concentration of lions in the world. So what has become of the Matusadona lions

since the lake filled, hopefully Rae can give us the answers to those questions. Early indications are that

they are alive and well….

 

Twala Animal Trust

From: Sharon Nicholls sharon@twalatrust.co.zw

At Twala, there are literally creatures everywhere.  Any attempt at ‘me’ time is swiftly abandoned as an influx of animals swarms onto your lap or your bed, pulling your eyelids open to see if you are really asleep, biting your feet, interrupting a yoga session by breathing hotly and noisily into your face, helping themselves to your food and hovering round the bath hunting the soap or putting fur and damp foot prints all over the towels.  A swim in our beautiful pool results in mayhem – the duikers race round and round the edge squeaking in alarm and crashing into each other, the cats gaze over the edge with wide-eyed, hackles-raised horror, the peacocks wail is dismay from the roof and the dogs sit at the gate and bark hysterically as the words get out that you are, apparently, drowning.

 

The noise levels are raised by the ever-increasing and utterly foolish families of guinea fowl that scurry in speckled flocks through the undergrowth, shepherding their chicks past dogs and cats and other bright-eyed predators with increasing feathery hysteria, and the whoops and screeches from Twitter the parrot.

 

The farmyard is heaving with a variety of creatures.  Huge white geese open mean orange beaks to hiss and honk, beating the air with their immensely powerful wings.  Forty two fat-bottomed mallard ducks quack and waddle round the pond, the exquisite iridescent blue and green feathers of the males shining in the sun as they hector their demure brown and white wives.  There is a surfeit of duck eggs and the animals are growing sleek and shiny on this rich addition to their diets.

 

Our tiny spotted bantams dart back and forth in search of insects and the remains of Patrick the pig’s breakfast.  Patrick is oblivious to these little creatures scattering and squawking before him.  He is like a sultan moving through his subjects, pink piggy nose up in the air and clever little eyes fixed on his mud bath ahead.  His consorts, Tracy the sheep and Tyrone the goat, trot along behind him.  They will spend the day attending to him, standing or lying on either side of him, two hairy mad-eyed sentries who never let him out of their sight.

 

Pygmalion, a tiny orphaned bush pig, is desperate to be accepted into Patrick’s inner circle.  He hovers uncertainly with his tiny bald tail quivering with expectation, the bristly stripes of hair on his minute body standing to attention as he tiptoes forward on his pink trotters towards the vast object of his porcine affection.  Fast as lightning, Tracy and Tyrone charge into action, jealously fending him off and bleating furious insults at this cheeky usurper.  Pyg’s fur is like the very best sort of tweed – a herringbone pattern of yellow, brown and white that covers his solid body in a wiry mat.  Each evening he is put to bed in a dog basket with a stuffed tiger for company, snuggled on a hot water bottle, deep in the soft billows of a duvet that is the closest we can come to where he should be sleeping – in a warm burrow with his mum.  Pyg will be released into the wild once he is mature but in the meantime is absolutely determined to be Patrick’s best friend.  Having recently experienced his very sharp teeth, I think Tracy and Tyrone may be facing demotion fairly soon.

 

Rabbits and guinea pigs abound.  Having spent many hours minutely examining the nether regions of these proliferate animals, and supposedly separating them into separate living quarters, I did not share the joy when one of the staff informed me that we had been “blessed” with the arrival of eight baby rabbits in what should be the Boys Only dormitory.

 

Henrietta the heron lives away from the mayhem and bad behaviour of the farmyard in an enormous aviary.  She will be released on the Twala dam once her feather have grown back but in the meantime has 3 members of staff frantically scouring the river for fish for her.  She can eat up to forty small fish a day and we know her currently supply has been consumed when we hear her outraged nasal honking floating down from the hill.  Thinking it would be a good photo opportunity I following the staff down to the river one morning to witness the fishing expedition.  Everyone seemed a little tense and uncomfortable as I stood about with my camera and I was puzzled and irritable at the lack of action until Richard said to me, quite coldly, “Excuse me, but we take off some of our clothes when we do this....”.  I beat a hasty and red-faced retreat.

 

We have successfully released an exquisite white-faced owl, the third white-faced released at Twala so far, and her place was swiftly taken by two eagle owls.  One has the tip of a wing missing so he will be a ‘garden owl’ – free to roam the Twala grounds but monitored and fed each evening.  The other owl was hit by a car and has a head injury – he is currently in the hospital being hand-red and nurtured back to health.  Thank you to Lara Clements for rescuing him. Many birds come in to Twala in need of rehabilitation and we have also released two lizard buzzards, several eagle owls and many smaller birds. We are presently rehabilitating a beautiful Abdim’s stork who is sharing Henrietta’s spacious quarters but is a lot less trouble than she is!

 

Two fat, silky puppies from the village next door are frequent visitors to Twala.  Having lost their mum to a snake bite, we are providing food and care for the puppies and each morning they come in for a check and go home with a day’s supply of food.  They will be vaccinated and castrated and we hope will have a decent quality of life through our community clinic that provides free vet care to rural dogs and other animals.  Suzie, one of those fantastic bat-eared brown dogs that we love so much, also benefited from the clinic after a huge, infected wound was treated free of charge at the Twenty Four Hour Vet. Our puppy feeding programme improves the lives of several puppies in the area. Each puppy has a lunch box that is brought to Twala by the owners each day and filled with a mixture of dog food, baby food and milk, thanks to Moldon Marketing, Sky Pharmaceuticals and Caboodle Baby Shop, and the puppies are inspected regularly. Needless to say, they are all looking fantastic.

 

Chloe on Arrival                                 Chloe Now

 

Our newest rescue dog is making wonderful progress.  Chloe suffered terrible abuse before she came in to the SPCA and her spirit seemed utterly broken. She is now my shadow, trotting beside me everywhere I go with her plumy tail up proudly and her smart red collar offsetting her thick black fur.  She is utterly endearing with her huge brown eyes and clever little face, guarding me with fierce loyalty, and so quick to learn.  She is overcoming her heart-breaking food issues (she would not eat if anyone was watching her and cowered and trembled if you offered her food or if she saw me eating anything).  Now she will take a biscuit from my hand and her beautiful face lights up with joy and pleasure when she realises it is a reward. Life at Twala is so much richer thanks to the Waggly Tail Club, and our motley gang of rescued cats.  We love them all and they are a constant source of companionship, entertainment and love, and sometimes drama such as discovering Gomez the kitten had been trapped in the filing cabinet and Simon the ginger ninja had eaten the bank statements.

 

With the arrival of Harriet the serval kitten, our predator family is growing. Harriet was found on the roadside, dehydrated, dirty and terrified. She is now a confident, healthy and adored member of the Twala family – harassing the cats, making an unlikely friend in the form of Pippin the wide-eyed and rather naive duiker and spending happy, sunny days practising predator leaps with wide spread, velvety paws chasing an endless parade of imaginary prey.

 

We are very privileged to have two African hedgehogs in our care. These fascinating, spiky new additions are nocturnal so we have to wait til dusk to see their exquisite pixie faces peeking out of the snug nest of hay they spend all day rolled up in. They trot about in the waning shadowy light nibbling on cat biscuits, chicken mince and grubs with their spines smoothed back over their tiny bodies like someone who has used too much hair gel. When threatened, however, these ferocious spikes stand to attention and bristle with aggression. We have a mother and a baby, although the baby is now bigger than mum – weighing an impressive fifty five grams!

 

Shani and Shungu, the Twala lions, are thriving.  Shungu is now so confident that he does little mock charges at dinner time (but will let cheeky Shani steal his dinner).  Shani is hugely powerful and extremely clever, always up to something.  Every day a white helicopter flies over Twala.  Shani waits for it, ears pricked forward intently as she hears the approaching clatter.  Then as it flies overhead, she leaps and gambols along beneath it, loving the pursuit of this enormous, noisy bird.  She is definitely a challenge to Shungu’s attempts at machismo.  She absolutely refuses to roar, much to his disgruntlement.  He lets out a series of enormous, impressive bellows and then really gets into it with a long series of guttural coughs and grunts, glaring furiously at his stubborn companion as she nonchalantly nibbles on her claws or, worse still, rolls over and yawns.  They are still greatly enamoured of the interactive lion toy brought by Chris Wade.  It has proved to be indestructible and an endless source of entertainment.

 

Twala feels like home now – helped by the addition of a donkey! I think you all know how much we love donkeys, and baby  Alex is a delightful, if boisterous addition. He lives in the farmyard and has learnt that if he stands at the gate and hoots in his beguilingly breathless baby donkey voice, someone will immediately come running bearing treats. Chopped carrots and popcorn are his favourites. Our magnificent white horse Griffin and his tubby chestnut companion Uno, are now sharing their idyllic life roaming free on Twala(with dinner and breakfast served every day) with a new rescue horse called Chance. Chance has had a terrible time and suffered years of neglect. He is thin and scruffy and blind in one eye, but hopefully Twala will work its magic on this sad soul and restore his health and happiness to him.

 

Twala is constantly growing, and it is thanks to all of you – to our sponsors and friends, to all those people who take the time to contact us with details of animals in need and who give those animals a second change by doing so, to all our neighbours who are so kind and supportive and make it such a pleasure to live at Twala, to all the people who do so many thoughtful, generous and helpful things for the animals and make it all possible – THANK YOU FROM US ALL.

 

The Twala Trust is open to visitors by prior booking only. Tours of the orphanage and rescue centre are at 10am and 2:30pm. Morning or afternoon tea are included, and you are welcome to bring a picnic. Picnic sites are in our beautiful gardens overlooking the dam, and no doubt you will be joined by our sociable duikers, the occasional tortoise or bird and our inquisitive cats! The day ends with lion feeding at 4pm. Bookings can be made on 0733436239 or 0772592944 or 0774312887.

 

You can follow the stories of the animals on our facebook site The Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary which is updated several times a week.

 

eMail:  sarah@twalatrust.co.zw

 

FaceBook:  The Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary

 

 

Victoria Falls anti poaching

'On the 5th and 6th of June a group of 5 of us are attempting to walk 100km's with in 24 hours, from Victoria Falls to Masuna. This is in aid of raising funds for the Victoria Falls Anti Poaching Unit (VFAPU). These guys do such a fantastic job and really need the support to keep going, as they are a private organization.

Please email me at lesanne@lesannephotography.com if you would like to make a contribution towards the walk (anything is better than nothing)! You can sponsor per km, per hour or just make a general donation. 

We will also be going through various villages so would love to be able to give the children stationary/books/food/sweets/fizzy drinks etc with the backup vehicle. Any kind of conservation reading material would be great as well as the future of wildlife preservation lies in educating the uneducated. We will be able to bring the supplies down from Harare so it will be possible to donate from there. 

With poaching increasing and our precious wildlife ever depleting, organizations like VFAPU are essential for conservation preservation in this country. If we all play a small part, together we can make a big difference. 

Thank you so much for your support. 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/VFAPUWALK for more information

Alves

Condolence: Our heartfelt sympathies to Mrs Alves and family,  Teachers and pupils at Twin Rivers school on the sudden loss of Mr Alves. The teaching fraternity has lost a great legend. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this very sad time. From the Nathoo family,  United Kingdom.

Motoring problems

This is to answer a number of questions being raised by Bambazonke readers and the general motoring public.

A rear number plate light is a requirement – Statutory Instrument 154 of 2010, Section 26 (1): No person shall drive a motor vehicle (etc.) … unless equipped with at least one lamp capable of illuminating the rear registration plate of the motor vehicle (etc.) … with a white light. The deposit fine for this offence is $20.00.

Holding or operating a handheld cell phone while driving is illegal – Statutory Instrument 299 of 2002, section 16B. However as of October 2013, the Instrument did not stipulate a penalty. High Court Judgement HB157/2012 concluded an appropriate penalty is a $20.00 fine, failing which 5 days imprisonment.

The maximum deposit a police officer can legally impose is $20.00 per offence (a level 3 fine); any fine higher than level 3 can only be imposed by a magistrate after a court appearance. Therefore if caught talking on a handheld cell phone while driving, the maximum deposit fine is $20.00 and any amount above that will require a court appearance.

Nevertheless, we all appreciate the risks involved in operating a phone while driving, and given the hands-free kits that are available at very affordable prices, there should be no need to be on the phone while driving.

Deposit fines are imposed per offence, and if found with more than one ‘issue’, the police officer can ‘add them up’. To avoid any confusion we suggest that motorists familiarise themselves with the deposit fines relating to the type of vehicle they are operating. The most common fines are listed in our Notes for the Cubby hole. If any readers do not have a copy, email us at bigsky@zol.co.zw for an updated .pdf version.

Heavy vehicle license – The Road Traffic Act, chapter 13.11 states a Class 2 Heavy vehicle license is required for a driver operating a vehicle with a net mass of 5,000kg and above (of 7 metre length and 2,4 metre width).

Anit Hijack report for May

ANTI-HIJACK UPDATE FOR MAY 2014

 

In May we have had reports of smash & grab incidences in the infamous sites around the city.  The lights at Churchill Rd/2^nd street extension (Sam Munjoma Rd) still an ongoing happening.  Now that winter is drawing in and its starts getting dark earlier please be on your guard … the thieves are still out there. Keep all valuables out of sight.

Do NOT travel with handbags, laptops, briefcases, mobile phones on the seat next to you or on the back seat, all shopping etc should be put out of sight or in the boot of the car. This you have heard many times……  let’s be security minded and take that extra time to make sure your journey home will be safe.  As the month draws to a close, and people are carrying extra cash, be careful and be alert.  Those who travel in public transport keep your cash well hidden and safe… we have heard of the public being robbed and left stranded at the ranks or on the journey home … this causes a lot of extra trauma/stress which we can all do without.  Cash is the main criteria here, and often a bag or purse will be found dumped with all vital cards etc, if you do happen to find any of this, please contact the person whose name and contact details are on the documents.  To replace ID, drivers licence etc is time consuming and quite a process. Please report incidences to your nearest Police Station as you need proof of them being stolen to replace or claim on them.  

 

Gate motors, borehole and swimming pool pumps are still being stolen from premises. Keep gates locked at ALL times, brief staff on your security procedure of not open the gate without checking who is waiting to gain access to the property. Do not let any vehicle or persons onto the property without checking their identity first.  If not sure, phone and check before letting anyone on the property.  Keep all doors in parts of the premises not in use locked, and where possible engage the alarm.   To do this ….  ALL alarms, remotes and backup systems must be checked on a regular basis. This will be peace of mind through the winter months.

 

  Let’s ALL fight this crime together  - stay ALERT and SAFE ! 

 

 

ANTIHIJACK TRUST: Email: hijack@mweb.co.zw or hijack@zol.co.zw

Phone : 0772221921 or your nearest Police Station.

All peaceful in Mozambique

All peaceful in Mozambique since the cease fire was declared on the 7^th May 2014.  No incidents have been reported and all our guests are travelling to and from with the convoy which is still in operation.

 

 

Kindest Regards

Brenda Herselman

Death and memorial notices

Death Notice: Peggy Tindall. We are very sad to announce the death of a dear friend, Peggy Tindall, who died at the Gelfand Clinic this morning (27th May).   Further arrangements will be announced later.  Contact:  Libby Garnett on 498304 or 0774 136950.

 

Death Notice: PROCTOR, (Cy) Cyril Arthur, (28.7,1931 - 26.5.2014) passed away at St Anne's Hospital, Harare. Deeply mourned by his daughter Shirley and grandson Daimon (Ireland) and many friends. Gone to be with beloved Pauline. Memorial Service details to be announced shortly. Any queries please contact Reo O'Connell on 0772225741 or roc@zol.co.zw

 

Memorial Notice: There will be a memorial service for Yvonne Georgiou on Saturday the 31/5/2014. At Glen Lorne Fellowship Church at 4pm, followed by tea after the service. Directions: 8km past Chisi shops on Enterprise road, Glen Lorne Fellowship Church has a sign on the right that says “Norton” and “Georgiou Service” Please note: parking is limited. Please double up if possible. The family look forward to seeing you there.

 

Farm deaths

On Sat 10th May Catherine Francis and her father Malcolm were brutally attacked on their farm in Guruve. Catherine died of her injuries on 14th May. Sadly, the CFU have just confirmed that Malcolm also succumbed to his injuries on Monday night and has died. news via Gerry Jackson of SW Radio Africa. How dreadfully sad. MHRIPA

Safeguard Breakin report for April 2014

Generally we are seeing an increase in the number of incidents in Harare this month, so it is important to pay attention to your security at home and work. Gate motors and boreholes continue to be a target.  Mt Pleasant seems to be a target this month most of the incidents were reported in this area.

 

Incidents Statics 2014
Harare		Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr
Attempted Break-In Residential		9	4	3	11
Attempted-Break-In Commercial		3	1	4	0
Robbery Residential		0	1	0	0
Robbery Commercial		0	0	1	0
Theft Residential		2	7	2	7
Theft Commercial		1	2	0	3
GRAND TOTAL PER MONTH		15	15	10	21

 

 

BREAK IN REPORT APRIL 2014

 

On 01/04/14 at 0430hrs in Hillside, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, forced open an office window, broke the alarm triggered and the intruders ran away. The property has a durawall burglar bars, electric gate and burglar bars.

 

On 01/04/14 at 0532hrs in Hillside, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, forced open the dining room window, broke burglar bars and entered the house. The client heard the noise and confronted the intruders, they ran away.  Property has a durawall, electric gate and burglar bars.

 

On 03/04/14 at 1023hrs in Eastlea, an intruder jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, stole a gate motor and went away. The alarm did not trigger because it was not armed. Property has a durawall, electric gate and burglar bars.

 

On 04/04/14 at 1247hrs in Milton Park, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, they forced open the main entrance door and entered the house. They stole a 32” plasma television set and went away. The alarm did not trigger because it was not armed. Property has durawall, electric gate and burglar bars.

 

On 07/04/14 at 0549hrs in Mt Pleasant, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, went and stole a gate motor and went away. The alarm did not trigger because the area was not protected by outside sensors. Property has a durawall, burglar bars and electric gate.

 

On 08/04/14 at 0414hrs in Avonlea, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, they broke the lounge window and entered the house. The alarm triggered and they ran away. Property has electric gate and durawall.

 

On 09/04/14 at 0249hrs in Mt Pleasant, intruders removed durawall panels and entered the yard, twisted the alarm outside sensor, the alarm triggered and they ran away. Property has durawall, electric gate and burglar bars.

 

On 12/04/14 at 0918hrs in Belvedere, intruders cut ordinary security fence and entered the yard, they attempted to steal empty crates of beer, the alarm triggered and they ran away. Property has ordinary security fence.

 

On 14/04/14 at 1200hrs in Mt Pleasant, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, went to the house and forced open the main door, the alarm triggered and they ran away.  Property has durawall, burglar bars, and electric gate.

 

On 17/04/14 at 0340hrs in Workington, intruders climbed over palisade fence and entered the yard, they broke an office door and stole two computers. The alarm triggered and they ran away with the computers. Property has palisade fence.

 

On 17/04/14 at 0400hrs in Greystone Park, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, went to the house and forced open the kitchen window and entered the house. The alarm triggered and they ran away. Property has a durawall, burglar bars and electric gate.

 

On 17/04/14 at 1042hrs in town, intruders broke the display window and entered the shop and stole various items and went away. The alarm did not trigger because it was not armed. 

 

On 18/04/14 at 1306hrs in New Ardbennie, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, they broke a window but failed to gain access because of the burglar bars. The alarm triggered and they ran away. Property has a durawall, burglar bars and electric gate.

 

On 24/04/14 at 0315hrs in Mt Pleasant, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, they went to the borehole and tried to remove the pump, the alarm triggered and they ran away. Property has durawall, burglar bars and electric gate.

 

On 25/04/14 at 0425hrs in Hogerty Hill, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, stole a gate motor and went away. The alarm did not trigger because the area had no outside sensors. Property has a durawall, burglar bars and electric gate.

 

On 27/04/14 at 0210hrs in Greystone Park, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, went to the main house and forced open the sliding door. The alarm triggered and they ran away. Property has a durawall, burglar bars and electric gate.

 

On 28/04/14 at 0320hrs in Lewisam, intruders entered the yard, broke a display window using a bolt cutter and attacked the guard manning the premises saw. They entered the shop and stole various items, the alarm triggered and they escaped in their getaway car.

 

On 28/04/14 at 0428hrs in Greystone Park, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, went to the main house and forced open a sliding door. The alarm triggered and they ran away.  Property has a durawall, burglar bars and electric gate.

 

On 28/04/14 at 1325hrs in Borrowdale, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, they stole a borehole pump and an electric motor and went away. The alarm did not trigger because the area had no outside sensors. Property has a durawall, burglar bars and electric gate.

 

On 30/04/14 at 03:33hrs in Prospect, intruders jumped over the durawall and entered the yard, went to the fowl run and stole some chickens and went away. The alarm did not trigger because the area had no outside sensors. Property has a durawall, burglar bars and electric gate.

 

On 30/04/14 at 05:20hrs in Town, intruders cut one of the locks on the grill gate, twisted the gate open, broke the glass door and gained entry into the shop. They stole some items and went away. The alarm did not trigger because it was not armed. Property has grill gates.

 

BULAWAYO

 

On 13/03/2014 at 07:30 hours we received a report that there was a break in at a premise in the CBD.  Upon investigations it was discovered that the intruder(s) had gained entry through the roof of one of the offices.  The intruder(s) managed to cut one of the top floor sensors and the radio link connections.  The intruder(s) then forced opened the door of the Managing Director office where they used a grinder to destroy the locking device of a safe but failed to access the money, the owner advised that petty cash was stolen from a drawer.

 

On 11/04/2014 at 03:10:14 we received an alarm activation from the CBD, we dispatched a reaction vehicle and the client was called.  Upon arrival the premise was entered and discovered that the intruder had searched the till and cupboards within the administration offices.  The client advised that US$440.00 was stolen.  The intruder unaware was captured on CCTV from his entry to exit.

 

On 12/04/2014 at approximately 01:00hours the owner and a neighbour of a premise in Belmont made a routine check and discovered his main gate had been forced open.  On investigations it was discovered that that the intruder(s) had climbed on top of the roof through the outside toilets and made three holes on the roof apparently in search of the alarm control box and radio link.  The intruders got away with US$3,000.00 from a strong room which they used a grinder to destroy the locking device.

 

 

 

MIDLANDS

 

Masvingo

 

On 05/04/2014, at a local shopping centre intruders broke in. The intruders broke a grill gate padlock and main door. The alarm activated.  The intruders ran away empty handed.   The property is secured by a precast walling which is topped by strands of barbed wire.

 

On 06/04/2014 at 03:00hrs, a foreign currency dealer was robbed at gun point along the Beitbridge Road. The robbers went away with R16 000.00 in the process.

 

On 10/04/2014 at 00:30hrs, a local fuel station was robbed at gun point by unknown robbers. Cash amounting to $532.00, cell phones and pepper spray were stolen. Robbers bundled the security guard and two petrol attendants before searching them. The security guard pressed the panic baton after the robbers had already left the premises.

 

MUTARE

On 31/3/2014 at 01:30 hrs in the Avenues area.   Unknown intruders jumped over the fence of residential house and forced open the door. They stole a cooker, DVD and various clothes before disappearing.

 

On 03/04/2014 at 22:41 hrs at Murambi.   Unknown intruders armed with a suspected rifle climbed a tree overhanging the durawall .The intruders went to the guard room and tied guard’s hands before taking his cell phone. The intruders then proceeded to the main house looking for the house occupants who were not present. They forced open lounge window and ransacked the house and the house alarm went off. When the intruders heard the rapid response vehicle arriving on the premises the intruders then fled into their gateway car firing shots and sped off at a high speed.

 

On 6/4/2014 at 03:45 hrs at Avenues.   Unknown intruders jumped over the fence of residential house and attempted to force open the lounge door. The house alarm went off and intruders ran away.

 

 

 

Safeguard “When Security Matters!” Break In Report April 2014