RABECCA BANDA writes
@SunZambian
THE mother of a 14-year-old thief of Chipata Compound wept in court after the Lusaka Magistrates Court found him guilty of house-breaking and theft and ordered that he undergoes three months of intensive counselling.
The court ordered that the juvenile receive counselling at the Prisons Care and Counselling Association (PRISCA) for stealing a television set.
This was in the matter in which the boy broke into the house of Margret Machicha on March 13 where he stole a television set.
Facts before the court were that on March 13, Machicha took her child for under five at the clinic and left the house locked and secure.
Machicha received a call from her aunt who informed her that unknown criminals had broken into her house.
She rushed home and found the door of her house wide open, and that the thieves had stolen her television set.
Machicha said she reported the theft to Chipata police station.
After investigations, the boy was arrested by the police.
In mitigation, the boy asked Machicha and his family to forgive him for the offence he had committed.
He said prison was a bad place and that he would not commit the offence again.
The boy said he stole the TV set because of group influence and that he had learnt a lesson after his arrest.
He said he would not be found in bad company again.
As the boy tried to convince the court that he was remorseful, his mother broke down in tears and said she felt bad that her son was involved in such criminal activities at such a tender age.
She said she was not happy with what her son had done and pleaded with the court for leniency.
However, her weeping did not stop the court from punishing her errant son.
Magistrate Nsunge Chanda said the juvenile was very young but busy making his mother trek from one court to another appearing for different cases.
Ms Chanda ordered that the boy undergoes three months of rehabilitation at the Prisons Care and Counselling Association (PRISCA) where he would receive expert counselling.
