The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has detained five people in connection with the damage and theft of telecommunications infrastructure in Harare.
According to a statement issued on Thursday, ZRP received information on July 29 that the suspects were seen cutting underground cables belonging to TelOne, one of the country's leading telecoms providers, at Lady Stanely Hostel.
The police and TelOne team found the suspects packing stolen items into their vehicle before fleeing, leaving behind tools and cables weighing 86 kilogrammes.
The suspects were tracked down, which resulted in the arrest of Nyanadehwe, who implicated the other suspects, according to police.
On July 31, Tawanda Nyanadehwe (21), Tinashe Emmanuel Guramatunhu (unspecified age), Tatenda Dzvova (25), Yusufu Banda (20), and Vincent Mangava (19) were arrested.
The telco previously stated that it had suffered $168,000 in losses from 143 recorded occurrences this year.
Lawrence Nkala, TelOne CEO, made the announcement at the 2025 TelOne Annual General Meeting last month. Nkala also encouraged the Zimbabwean police to increase their efforts to curb infrastructure vandalism.
Commending the public for providing the information, ZRP said: “The Zimbabwe Republic Police applauds the public for supplying information which led to the arrest of the suspects, the public should continue supplying information on criminal activities on the country.”
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