Chitipa Magistrate’s Court has sentenced Yotamu Nyondo, 55, to three years imprisonment for stealing two motorcycles from his workplace at Tubepoka Development Initiative.
The court heard on Wednesday that on April 22 this year, the initiative’s offices were broken into and two Yamaha motorcycles registration CP 4042 and CP 4043 valued at K7 million were stolen.
In his ruling, first grade magistrate Billy Ngosi said police investigations showed that there was no forced entry, leading them to conclude that the culprit used keys to unlock the doors.
He said: “When quizzed, Nyondo said he lost his keys and had visited his daughter at the hospital on the said night.
“However, police established that he had not reported to his bosses about the lost keys. Police also found from his family that he had not gone to the hospital as he claimed.”
The police arrested Nyondo and charged him with breaking into a building and committing a felony contrary to Section 311 (1) of the Penal Code.
He pleaded not guilty, but the State paraded four witnesses to prove its case.
State prosecutor James Kanyumbu asked the court for a stiffer punishment, arguing that motorcycle thefts are becoming rampant in the district.
Nyondo comes from Ngoya Village, Traditional authority Mwaulambya in the district.
