Zomba Senior Resident Magistrate’s court has sentenced a 19-year-old boy to 11 years in jail with hard labour for stealing a motor vehicle at a house.
Deputy Public Relations Officer for Zomba Police Station Sergeant Patrick Maseko, the convict is Benjamin Mkandawire.
The court heard through Assistant Superintendent Josephine Chigawa, a prosecutor at Zomba Police Station, that on June 11, 2020 at Chinamwali location in Zomba district, the convict broke into the house of a woman.
He went away with different items including a motor vehicle Toyota Axio registration number CZ 9178 which was parked outside the house. The total value of the items stolen is K5,870,000.
Appearing before court, Mkandawire pleaded guilty to all the five charges leveled against him and the court found him guilty and consequently convicted him.
In her submission, Chigawa told the court that, the convict is not a first offender; he was sentenced to a community service three months ago.
She further told the court that, out of all the items, police only managed to recover the vehicle which was also damaged after he was involved in a road accident due to incompetency.
She therefore said the convict is a threat to the society and asked the court to impose a stiff custodial sentence so that it should be a lesson to him and would be offenders.
In mitigation, the convict asked the court to forgive him, saying he is still young.
When passing sentence yesterday June 17, 2020, Senior Resident Magistrate Rodrick Michongwe concurred with the state on the need to give him a stiffer sentence. He therefore sentenced him to 11 years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
Benjamin comes from Likaka Village, Traditional Authority Mwambo in Zomba district.
