Nine people who hails from Fayile Village, Traditional Authority Nthalire in Chitipa District have been fined to pay K513,000 each or in default to serve 30 months in prison for damaging Nthalire Police Unit office block and staff houses by the First Grade Magistrate’s Court in Chitipa.
They have been identified as Taongera Gondwe, 36, and eight others where State Prosecutor, Inspector Oscar Mwamutowe told the court on May 4th, 2022 that the eight damaged the police structures following the arrest of a suspect of robbery whom they torched to death.
According to information shared by police, the suspect, whose particulars are not known, earlier on the material day stabbed a motor cycle taxi oeprator and robbed him the motorcycle and after his arrest at Nyika National Park gate, irate villagers overpowered them while on their way to the office and torched him to death.
The angry mob proceeded to Nthalire Police Unit where they damaged the office block and staff houses but denied the charge levelled against them after appearing in court promoting the state to parade four witnesses who successfully testified against them.
In mitigation, the convicts prayed for leniency, saying they are first offenders and bread winners for their families but in submission, Mwamutowe told told the court that the convicts acted as rebels by attacking and damaging government security agency’s infrastructure, adding that they created insecurity to the people of Nthalire and the tendency of committing such offences is very common, hence the need for a stiff penalty.
Passing judgement, magistrate Billy Ngosi concurred with the state and fined the convicts a total amount of K4,617,000 to be shared among them.