Employees jailed for stealing diesel

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Mangochi

Chimwala second grade magistrate court in Mangochi has jailed five men for stealing diesel from their employer.

The men have been sentenced to 15 months imprisonment with hard labour each for the offence of theft by servant contrary to section 286 of the penal code.

The five are James Mpuntha, 30, Gift Juma aged 36, George Mathias, Victor Damiano aged 29 and 50-year-old John Gwetseni.

When presenting facts, Mangochi Police station prosecutor Efford Kamphonje told the court that the five are employees at Njeleza Cement product Ltd belonging to Aslam Gafar Zagaf in Mangochi.

Two of them are drivers and the rest are security guards.

On October 5, around 6pm the company’s security manager Alex Dinaford Rabu assigned the three guards to man six plant vehicles that were left at Maela mining site within the campus.

Around 11pm Rabu received an “emergency call” in which the guards were complaining to have been attacked by unknown criminals.

But in true sense the three had connived with the drivers to steal 270 litres of diesel worth K221,000 from the plant vehicles.

The security manager rushed to the site and saw one of the criminals running away and recognized him to be one of the drivers.

The suspect was caught and handed over to Makokola Police Unit who visited the scene of crime.

The police recovered 12 Jerry cans of diesel which were hidden under a certain shelter near the mining site.

Later the other driver and the security guards were apprehended. Appearing in court, all the five pleaded guilty as charged.

In mitigation they begged for lenient penalties as some of them look after orphans.

When passing judgment, his worship second grade magistrate John Mpwahiwa expressed concern over the men’s conduct as their duty is to protect the company’s property.

He therefore sentenced each of them to 15 months imprisonment with hard labour in order to deter would be offenders.

 

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