Thieves haul 3 pool tables – From 3 bars in a single night
Written by Millennium on June 4, 2019
BY CEASAR MBEWE
THIEVES went on rampage in Lusaka’s Makeni Villa last weekend breaking into three bars and getting away with three pool tables in a single night.
Police are investigating the break-inns and theft of the pool tables valued at K9,000 in the Baghdad area.
Spokesperson Esther Mwata Katongo said the thefts happened on Friday around mid-night and that so far no arrests had been made because the community was not cooperating.
“It’s difficult to have any suspects apprehended when the community is not willing to cooperate. So we have opened an investigation to try to bring the thieves to book,” Ms Katongo said.
Owners of the bars told the Sun that they suspected the thieves were some of the regular patrons.
One of the owners, Jonah Munalula, said he was shocked at how swift the thieves had stolen the pool tables because it was just 30 minutes after closing when someone phoned him reporting a break-in in.
By the time he got to his bar the criminals had already left.
“I was shocked; 30 minutes after closing I got a call saying my bar was wide open and my pool table was stolen. I mean only a pool table was stolen; nothing else, not even the money, not the TV,” Mr Munalula said.
Another owner, Owen Musonda, said his bar despite having someone sleeping in it still got broken into while his worker was asleep.
He suspected the criminals used some charms to steal.
“I think they used juju because they didn’t break the wall. They used the front door to get the pool table out and my worker sleeps in here, but he never heard anything and this is one of the lightest sleepers I know,” Mr Musonda said.
The thieves also broke into a number of bars on Y Road in Garden House and emptied Bonanza machines before dumping them a few metres away.
Makeni Villa has now become notorious for criminal activities because of lack of a police post.
Residents have to report cases or send distress calls to Plainview, Chinika, First Road and Los Angeles police posts which are far away.
Some residents are now threatening to take the law into their own hands.
Besides frequent break-ins the criminals, who move in large groups of up to 20, have also been attacking residents as they walk back to their homes as early as 19:00 hours.
