A HARARE man, Munyaradzi Nyakubaya, will spend the next three years behind bars after he was found guilty and convicted of theft by a Harare Magistrate on Tuesday.
Munyaradzi Nyakubaya (17) was sentenced to three years in prison by Harare Magistrate Barbra Mateko on allegations of stealing motor vehicles and stripping them of their parts.
The total worth of his loot was $ 4 000, the court heard.
His family was the center of attraction as they openly wept in court after the sentence was handed down.
Nyakubaya had two charges of theft in which he was found guilty and convicted after a full trial.
Of the three years, one year was suspended on condition that the accused person will not commit a similar offense in future.
The prosecutor Peter Kachirika had pleaded with the court to give a firmer penalty as a way of deterring theft arguing that it was rampant in Zimbabwe.
“A record must be set that the courts are fighting theft cases and the penalty of theft usually attracts a custodial sentence and thus the court needs to send a message to the society,” he said.
It was proven that on May 14 Nyakubaya hatched a plan to steal from the complainant by lying to him that he was looking for a taxi and the complainant objected and drove away from for about 200 metres but Nyakubaya in pursuant of his plan followed the complainant and discovered that he left his car keys and he sneaked into the car and drove away.
Further, on the second account the accused hatched a plan to steal from the complainant when he misled the complainant that he was selling fuel whereas his intention was to steal the complainant vehicle.
