Three thieves who attacked a man with panga knives and stole K369,500 from him in Limbe have been sentenced to 10 years in prison each.
The convicts are Steven Isaac, 21, Chimwemwe Chikwapula, 22, and Witness Mphepo aged 33.
Sub Inspector Steven Mpira, Limbe Police Station’s prosecutor, told the court that the incident happened on October, 4, 2021 at around 6pm.
Mpira said the three who were armed with panga knives attacked Mr Chidziwitso Kamwendo who was working as a supervisor at GM2 factory in the area and robbed him of the said cash that was meant for the factory pieceworkers’ payments.
The convicts were later apprehended by Limbe detectives who also managed to recover K309,000. 00 cash. The three were charged with robbery, an offence that contravenes Section 300 as read with Section 301(2) of the Penal code.
When they appeared in court, they denied the charge levelled against them. This prompted Mpira to parade three witnesses, and they were later convicted.
Sub Inspector Mpira prayed for stiff penalty, saying the offence is serious and rampant in the area. Mpira added that the offence was systematically planned, as one of the convicts was the company’s employee.
In mitigation, all the three pleaded with the court for leniency saying they were first offenders and breadwinners in their families.
The presiding magistrate, Senior Resident Magistrate Byson Masonga, sentenced the thieves to 10 years imprisonment with hard to act as a deterrent to would-be-offenders.
Steven Isaac comes from Kasalabande village in Traditional Authority Somba in Blantyre, Chimwemwe Chikwapula and Witness Mphepo hail from Samikwa and Nyanyaliwa villages respectively, both from Traditional Authority Nkalo in Chiradzulu
