By LUCY PHIRI
BAGS of charcoal have landed a Lusaka man in hot soup after his footsteps and droplets of charcoal led the owners to his house.
Appearing in the Lusaka Magistrate Court before magistrate Mwandu Sakala was Levy Munsaje, accused of stealing 19 bags of charcoal all valued at K4, 750 without authority.
Musanje admitted to stealing 10 bags only and not 19 as purported.
Musanje said he did not get all of them but gave some to a colleague who helped him secure some at his house.
Magistrate: How did they catch you, since you said you managed to escape?
Musanje: They followed the droplets of charcoal up to my house.
In mitigation, Musanje pleaded with the court to forgive him because he accepted the charge without wasting the court’s time.
“I have accepted the charge and three bags were recovered, I would appreciate it if the court could give me an opportunity to speak to the owner so we can negotiate and reconcile,” he said.
The court said the offense he committed was a serious one and needed to be punished accordingly.
“I sentence him to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour,” Magistrate Sakala said.
