MULENGA MUSONDA writes
@SunZambian
A MAN of Pemba in Southern Province who has been terrorising member of the public with a gun and stealing their livestock has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour for stock theft.
Brian Namwanda was facing two counts together with his co-accused, Bright Hamweemba, of illegal firearm possession and stock theft separately in the Choma Magistrates Court.
The two on August 5 were in illegal possession of a homemade short gun without a licence.
They also stole two cows valued at K20,000 belonging to Christopher Mutembo.
Namwanda pleaded guilty to both charges while Hamweemba denied them. When Namwanda’s case was called, public prosecutor Catherine Sakala said the two were apprehended by area game rangers after they received information that Namwanda was in possession of a Gun that he was using to commit crimes.
And in relation to the second offence, the court heard that after Namwanda slaughtered the two cows he packed the carcasses in sacks, but the owner was able to identify his animals through the ear tags.
In mitigation Namwanda begged the court to exercise maximum lenience as he was a poor man who looks after orphans, and that he just inherited the gun from his late grandfather.
“I sold the gun because I had no use for it as I wanted to buy food for the orphans that I keep” he said.
But when asked by the court what he was using to steal the cows, he said he had used the same gun.
This was after he was fined K500 for illegal possession of a firearm or serve three months imprisonment.
But after a sigh of relief of just being fined, senior resident magistrate Idah Mupemo slapped him with a five-year mandatory sentence with hard labour for stock theft effective from the date of his arrest.
Trial for his co-accused Hamweemba continues on September 7, 2019.
