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Nanyumbu Second Grade Magistrate court has sentenced a 27-year-old man to 18 months imprisonment with hard labour for an offence of burglary and theft that he undertook at police officer’s house.
Machinga police station public relations officer Davie Sulumba identified the convict as Abdulahaman Jimmy who hails from Ngunga village, in the area of Traditional Authority Kapoloma in Machinga District.
State Prosecutor Constable Gift Kalamula told the court that the incident happened during the night of 12-13 April when the convict broke into the house of a police officer at Nselema police post, William Kamwendo and managed to steal a TV screen valued at K40,000.00.
“Kamwendo was sleeping in his house when he suddenly heard a strange sound from the sitting room. He woke up quietly and went to the sitting room to see what was happening and found the criminal trying to take a glass coffee table”, Kalamula told the court.
Kalamula added that the officer tried to chase the criminal but he did not catch him. Upon coming back home, he found that his screen was taken from the house and left outside. He also found a metal bar that the criminal used to break into the house, a torch and a pair of trousers.
“Kamwendo reported the matter to Nselema police and one of the suspect’s brother was invited to identify the trousers and he positively identified the cloth as that of Jimmy hence his arrest,” said Kalamula.
Appearing in court, Jimmy denied the offence of burglary and theft contrary to sections 309(A) and 278 of the penal code respectively prompting the prosecutor to bring in some witnesses who testified against him and later was convicted.
The prosecutor asked the court to hand him a stiff punishment as it was his second time to be convicted on the same offence as per court’s records.
Second Grade Magistrate Maxwell Boazi concurred with the prosecutor and sentenced him to 84 months and 15 months imprisonment with hard labour for burglary and theft respectively and that the sentences to run concurrently.
