A CAREER thief who was pardoned by President Robert Mugabe in 2009 was beginning his third spell behind bars this week.
Smart Taru, 43, was freed alongside 1,500 prisoners in a bid to clear Zimbabwe’s congested prisons halfway into a 26-year jail term.
But on Monday, a Masvingo magistrate told Taru he had learned nothing from his life of crime and punishment as he sent him away for 25 years.
Taru, of 33 Rhus Avenue, Rhodene, admitted 108 COUNTS of unlawful entry and theft.
Takunda Chikati, prosecuting, told how Taru’s crime spree began almost as soon as he was freed in 2009, and ended only in November 2011 when he was finally arrested.
Employed casually as a gardener during the day, Taru sprung into action during the night, spreading terror among Masvingo residents as he used an iron bar to force open doors and to break padlocks.
Many of his victims swore to investigators that Taru was invisible, and may have used supernatural powers to commit his crimes during which he stole electrical goods, phones, jewellery and cash.
“Some of the victims told investigators they believed Taru had powers to remove people from their beds while they slept. His mystique grew with every break-in, and in a small community all manner of theories grow legs,” the prosecutor said.
And it appears the career house breaker also believed his own hype. The court heard that as detectives finally arrested him, he told them not to bother as he would use his magical powers to escape custody.
The court heard that Taru stole property worth US$22,000 – and items with almost half that value had been recovered.
His crime spree was ended when he sold a stolen mobile phone to a trader who when arrested during a police sweep led them to Taru.
The court heard that Taru was first jailed for three years in 1989 after a conviction for house breaking and theft.
He was again arrested, tried and jailed in 1996 after another wave of robberies before being pardoned in 2009.