BULAWAYO - A panel beating worker has been charged with stealing a client's silver Mercedes-Benz from a Bulawayo workshop, driving it for personal use, and abandoning it in Nketa after it ran out of fuel.
Polite Ndlovu, 24, of Westgate NRZ compound appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mark Dzira on Friday facing a charge of motor vehicle theft under Section 113 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. He pleaded guilty and was remanded in custody to 23 March.
The vehicle, valued at US$7 000, belongs to Siduduzile Sibanda, who had taken it to BBG Panel Beaters at CSC Complex in Bulawayo for respraying on 5 March 2026. Workshop operator Blessing Gombe assigned Ndlovu to work on the car.
Prosecutor Hazel Ncube told the court that when staff knocked off that day, the Mercedes-Benz was left parked outside the workshop with its keys stored inside a damaged refrigerator in the shop. On the night of 7 March, Ndlovu broke into the workshop, retrieved the keys, and drove the vehicle away.
The car was later found dumped in Nketa without keys. Police received information on 18 March leading to Ndlovu's arrest at his home, where the keys were found in his pocket.
When asked why he took the car, Ndlovu told the court he had wanted to use it for a trip and planned to return it afterwards. The plan fell apart when the vehicle ran out of fuel and he had no money to refuel it.
The Mercedes-Benz has been fully recovered.
