You really can’t make this stuff up. A 27-year-old man in Bulawayo stole a police officer’s car from right outside the police station, got arrested, escaped while handcuffed, and was eventually found hiding under his own bed.
The wild sequence of events started on October 31, 2025, when Constable Mashora parked his Honda Fit in the central parking bay at Bulawayo Central Police Station, Zimbabwe, before starting his shift, according to Linda Ikeji Blog.
By the time he finished for the day, both his car and everything inside it, clothes, a satchel, personal items, had vanished.
The Vehicle Theft Squad traced the stolen vehicle to Talent Mpofu, a 27-year-old from Entumbane.
According to prosecutors, Mpofu somehow managed to unlock and start the car without keys, then drove off like he owned it.
Detectives eventually located the Honda Fit abandoned at a service station near Western Commonage Police Station.
They arrested Mpofu at his home and brought him back to Bulawayo Central for questioning.
Here’s where it gets even more ridiculous. Despite being handcuffed, Mpofu bolted from the police courtyard and made a run for it, straight back to his house.
With help from his wife and a neighbor, he actually got the handcuffs off.
But his freedom was short-lived. Detectives showed up at his home again and found him doing what every fugitive apparently does in the movies: hiding under the bed.
When Constable Mashora got his car back, he noticed it had different number plates.
Even worse? Mpofu was wearing the officer’s T-shirt and sandals when police arrested him.
Mpofu appeared in court on November 7, 2025, and was remanded in custody. He told the magistrate he committed the theft because of financial desperation.
