Woman jailed for stealing speaker at overnight prayers in Lilongwe
Published on November 27, 2025 at 3:38 PM by Evance Kapito
A 24-year-old woman, Diana Josephy, has been sentenced to nine months in prison for stealing a portable speaker during overnight prayers in Lilongwe.
Lingadzi Police Station spokesperson Sergeant Maria Kumwenda said the conviction was confirmed on Friday by the Lilongwe First Grade Magistrate’s Court, presided over by Magistrate Arthur Mtalimanja.
The court heard that Josephy committed the offence on 11 November 2025 at a private residence where the prayers had been taking place. The state presented evidence through the prosecuting team, which said Josephy took advantage of the early-morning dispersal to steal the device.
Josephy and two other women had been allowed to remain at the venue after prayers, which ended around 4:00 AM, because their homes were far away.
Police told the court that Josephy had earlier borrowed the speaker to play music during the prayers. When the owner became distracted, she fled the scene with the device concealed, but was later tracked and arrested through investigations led by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
In court, Josephy pleaded guilty and asked for leniency, citing that she was caring for a young infant child.
However, the magistrate ruled that the sentence was necessary to deter rising cases of theft exploiting community gatherings.
Josephy comes from Chikolosa Village under Traditional Authority Kanduku in Mwanza District, southern Malawi.
Police said she will now begin serving her sentence at a correctional facility pending standard prison procedures.
