The Chief Resident Magistrate’s court in Lilongwe, on April 13 ,2021 sentenced three men to between 15 and 18 years in prison for robbery offences.
The convicts are identified as 31-year-old Gift Kauta Shonga, who was given 18 years; Moses Banda, 24, and Frank Kifura Kambalame, 24, who were both slapped with 15 years in prison.
The incident occurred on February 26,2021 in Kawale 1.
According to state prosecutor Sub Inspector Symon Nsaka of Kawale Police, the three were ex-convicts and were pardoned in 2020 and after their release they organised a gang and terrorized Kawale for the past months until the night of February 26,2021 when they robbed a certain shop where by they were positively identified.
The three were later apprehended and charged with three counts of robbery which they admitted to.
In his submission, Sub Inspector Nsaka prayed for a stiffer sentence saying cases of this nature are on the rise in the area hence the need to slap them with stiffer punishment to deter other would -be- offenders.
In mitigation, Shonga and his friends pleaded with the court for leniency saying they are bread winners in their families and still young .
Passing his judgement Chief Resident Magistrate Patrick Chirwa quashed the convicts’ request while concurring with the state and went further to sentence the three to serve jail terms of 15 and 18 years with hard labour and 15 years respectively.
Shonga hails from Lavo village Traditional Authority Chiwere in Dowa; Banda comes from Nthache village T/A Chigalu in Blantyre while Kambalame is from T/A Ganya’s area in Ntcheu District.
By Sergeant Mabvuto Phiri
Deputy PRO
Kawale Police Station
Cell ;0995873467
Email; Mabvutophiri@gmail.com