By MAKOKWA CLARA MUYENDEKWA
Barely a month after serving a sentence, a man has been convicted for a similar offence in the Choma Magistrate’s Court.
This is in a case Yona Mwale and 22-year-old Jamshit Sikalongo were charged with burglary and theft. They allegedly stole various items among them a television and flash discs, the property of Mika Chingumbe valued at K17, 595.
The facts before the court were that the accused persons stole the items while the complainant was sleeping in the night of January 1, 2022 as he slept.
In the morning when he woke up, he found that the thieves entered through the back door which had been damaged and he reported the matter to police.
Police investigations led to the arrest of Mwale and Sikalongo and property worth K5, 850 was recovered.
Resident Magistrate Selia Kanunka convicted both accused persons on their own admission of the charge.
Clerck of court in charge of criminal section, Obby Mukobela produced the previous offence record of Sikalongo and disclosed that he had been imprisoned for house breaking and theft in 2019.
He said the accused person had been sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour in October 2019.
When it was time for mitigation Mwale, the first accused person disclosed to court that he had escaped prison and only finished serving his sentence after he was recaptured.
The second accused person asked court for lenience saying he had no relatives to assist him and will not commit an offence again.
Magistrate Kanunka sentenced the first accused to 60 months imprisonment with hard labor saying it was surprising that the accused person was only finishing his sentence in December 2021 after being recaptured.
She also sentenced Sikalonga to 42 months imprisonment with hard labour saying he was a first time offender and property recovered acted as mitigation.
