By Mulenga Musonda
Two men who were on the blink of doing time in Prison for Burglary and Theft of properties valued at nearly K60, 000 have walked to freedom after the Choma Magistrates Court found them not guilty.
In this matter Gift Nawa and Mancray Kampali were appearing before Court charged with Burglary and Theft contrary to the Laws of Zambia.
Particulars of the offence are that the two on February 21 in Choma, jointly broke into the house of Sichikali Handuba and stole among other valuables, electronic and electrical appliances, assorted clothes and groceries all valued at K58, 204.
After the state called four witnesses to testify against the duo, the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case of Burglary and Theft against the two which saw the Court dropping the charge to “being in possession of property suspected to have been stolen.”
And when the case came up for judgment before court, Resident Magistrate Ethel Phiri still found the state’s evidence unconvincing to warrant a conviction.
She said there were chances that the properties stolen could have exchanged hands looking at the period that had elapsed.
She further established in her findings that, had the two known that the items they were selling were stolen; they would not have displayed them in public to offer to sell.
She thus acquitted the two men and set them at liberty forthwith.
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