The Dowa First Grade Magistrate’s Court on Monday sentenced Wellings Mponela, 34, to 30 months Imprisonment with Hard Labour (IHL) for the offence of intimidation.
The court through state prosecutor Sub Inspector Agnes Mphinga heard that the convict, by word threatened a 30-year-old Ethiopian national, Yassin Mubarak, during the month of March 2021 at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in the district. He used the threats by telling him that if he failed to give him money amounting to K10 million, her daughter would be kidnapped.
The court further heard that the convict has been intimidating the victim using phone calls, texts and WhatsApp messages which prompted the victim to report the matter to police.
The police issued the victim with a search warrant to go to Airtel to check the call logs, leading to the arrest of the convict.
The convict pleaded not guilty to a charge of intimidation contrary to Section 88 of the Penal Code which prompted the State to parade three witnesses, leading to his conviction.
While passing the sentence, First Grade Magistrate Amran Phiri, concurred with the State’s submission for a stiff punishment hence sentencing the convict to 30 months imprisonment with hard labour as a warning to the other would-be offenders.