2-Day Romance Ends In Jail For Mutare Woman Who Stole US$73,000 Gold From Boyfriend

Mutare Woman Jailed After Stealing US$73,763 Gold From Boyfriend Of Two Days

A 20-year-old Mutare woman has been sentenced to 12 months in prison after stealing a gold bullion worth US$73,763 (approximately R1.22 million) from a man she had been dating for just two days. She also used some of the money from the sale to buy a luxury vehicle, an iPhone 17 Pro and an iPad.

Ruvarashe Nicole Chanetsa appeared before Mutare Provincial Magistrate Tendai Mahwe, where she pleaded guilty to theft.

The court ordered her to repay the outstanding US$5,000 (approximately R82,520) that police had not recovered.

How Mutare Woman Stole Gold From Her New Boyfriend

The court heard that the incident happened on October 26, 2026, when Chanetsa and her boyfriend, Tawanda Nyakudya, travelled from Chikanga to Mutare’s Central Business District in his Toyota Hilux.

Nyakudya, a registered gold-buying agent, parked outside Global Brothers Supermarket before going into Clicks Pharmacy.

He left Chanetsa inside the vehicle, with two gold bullion bars placed in the cup holder tray.

Prosecutor Chris Munyuku told the court that Chanetsa took advantage of his absence and stole one of the 604-gram gold bullion bars.

Nyakudya discovered the gold was missing only after dropping Chanetsa off in Morningside and continuing his journey to Harare.

Police Recover Mazda CX-5 And Cash From Gold Theft

Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Mutare arrested Chanetsa the following day.

She admitted stealing the gold and told investigators that she had sold it to registered gold-buying company Socco Resources (Pvt) Ltd.

Police investigations led to the recovery of a Mazda CX-5, registration number AHM 8870, which Chanetsa had purchased on the day of the theft.

Officers also recovered US$18,900 (approximately R311,926) from the vehicle’s boot, an iPhone 17 Pro and an iPad.

A further US$19,200 (approximately R316,877) was recovered from her sister, Emma Chanetsa, while another US$5,000 (approximately R82,520) was found with Ngoni Matanisa, who had allegedly been asked to keep the money.

In total, property and cash valued at US$68,400 (approximately R1.13 million) were recovered.

Magistrate Hands Down 12-Month Prison Sentence

During mitigation, Chanetsa expressed remorse and told the court that she did not know what had come over her when she committed the offence.

Magistrate Mahwe considered that she was a first-time offender who had pleaded guilty and shown remorse.

However, he said she had abused the trust placed in her by the complainant. The value of the stolen gold also weighed heavily in the court’s decision.

She was consequently sentenced to 12 months in prison and ordered to restitute the outstanding amount.

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