Crime Reporter
Five villagers—four women and a man—have been arrested after allegedly stealing kitchen utensils from a cross-border haulage truck involved in a single-vehicle accident four kilometres from the Malala Toll Gate in Beitbridge.
Acting Officer Commanding Beitbridge Police District Chief Superintendent Philisani Ndebele, said he was out of the country.
However, reporters from Ziyah Newswork were at the scene, where Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers engaged in running battles with a crowd of villagers who had earlier overwhelmed two officers initially deployed to guard the wreckage.
According to a witness at the scene, the truck overturned at dawn.
Two police officers were assigned to secure the cargo after the injured driver was rushed to the hospital.
Word of the crash quickly spread through nearby villages.
Large crowds soon gathered after realizing the haulage truck was carrying household goods that were easy to carry away.
Outnumbering the two officers on duty, the crowd began looting the truck before police reinforcements arrived.
Reinforcements eventually dispersed the crowd, recovered several stolen items, and arrested five suspects, though several others managed to flee the scene.
They are expected in court Friday.