By Chrissy Nkumba
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-A-54-year-old Congolese national in Dowa District has been convicted and sentenced to three years Imprisonment with Hard Labour (IHL) for stealing from a church.
The Dowa First Grade Magistrate’s Court on Thursday through state prosecutor Joseph Banda heard that the convict, Safari Ruhakanira committed the offence between the night of February 6 to February 7 2022 at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in the district.
Banda said the convict broke and entered into Horeb Mountain of God Church and stole two bass speakers, two solo speakers, two big speakers and two amplifier mixers all valued at MK1.8 million belonging to the church.
Appearing before court, Ruhakanira pleaded not guilty to a charge of breaking into a building and committing a felony therein contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code.
This prompted the state to parade four witnesses leading to his conviction.
In his submission, Sergeant Banda asked the court to pass a stiff punishment to the offender to deter others from committing similar offences.
Banda added that the offence committed is serious in nature hence the need for a stiff sentence.
Passing the sentence, magistrate Amran Phiri agreed with the state’s submission and slapped the convict with three years IHL as a warning to other would-be offenders.
The convict Ruhakanira comes from South Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)