A 22-year-old man in Dowa has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment with hard labour for setting ablaze his in-law’s house.
The Dowa First Grade Magistrate’s Court on Monday through state prosecutor Inspector Christopher Daluni heard that the convict Nzeru Kalulu during the night of 14 December, 2021 at Chakanga Village in Dowa District willfully and unlawfully set fire to a house and property valued at K300,000 got burnt.
The house and the property belong to Friday Frezer who is the convict’s in-law.
The convict burnt the house of his in-law after the victim picked a quarrel with his wife and this angered the convict.
During the incident, property such as assorted clothes, maize flour, five bags of maize and a basin were burnt to ashes.
Appearing before court, Kalulu pleaded not guilty to a charge of arson contrary to Section 337 of the Penal Code. This prompted the state to parade four witnesses, leading to his conviction.
In his submission, state prosecutor Inspector Christopher Daluni asked the court to mete out a stiff punishment to the offender, saying the offence committed is serious in nature.
Passing sentence, First Grade Magistrate Amran Phiri concurred with the state’s submission and slapped him with 5 years jail term as a deterrent to others with similar intentions.
Nzeru Kalulu comes from Chikhutu Village in Traditional Authority Mbang’ombe in Lilongwe District.
