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Man fined K1.5 million for arson

 

Ntchisi Magistrate’s Court yesterday sentenced a 43-year-old man to pay a fine of K1.5 million or in default serve 5 years imprisonment.

Ntchisi Police Station spokesperson Gladson M’bumpha said the court heard that the convict, Harold Nelson Kachipala, on October 21 wilfully and unlawfully set on fire a maize mill at Machisawo Village. The mill, valued at K1.1 million, belonged to Stanley Mtumbati, 60, of Nkhuzi Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kalumo in the district.

M’bumpha: Convict pleaded guilty

He said the convict committed the act as a reaction to the quarrel the victim’s two children had with his children.

According to M’bumpha, the convict pleaded guilty to the charge.

In his ruling, magistrate Yohane Nkhata said what the convict did is as good as killing since the victim invested a lot of money to buy the maize mill and it is his only source of income.

In a related development, the same court on Wednesday sentenced Dyton Msema, 53, of Kongola Village in T/A Kalumo in the district to six years imprisonment for arson.

The court heard that on October 21 the convict set on fire two houses in Nkhuzi Village in the district belonging to Chipiliro Chimwere, 27, and his sister Margaret Chimwere, 36. n

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