Mahomed Mussa Worker Who Paid Lobola With Stolen Money Sentenced To Two Years In Jail
A 40-year-old man who paid US$4 426 lobola with part of the US$195 000 he stole from Mahomed Mussa Wholesalers, his employer, has been sentenced to two years imprisonment.
According to The Herald, Chamunorwa Muvhuti, who was a merchandiser at Mahomed Mussa, was convicted by Harare magistrate Apollonia Marutya after finding him guilty of theft.
Muvhuti had pleaded guilty. In mitigation, he told the court that the employer was not paying enough.
Muvhuti was initially sentenced to 36 months in prison before six months were set aside on the condition that he would not commit a similar offence in the next five years.
Another six months were suspended on condition that Muvhuti pay US$5 000 restitution to Mohammed Mussa before 28 February 2024.
In handing down the sentence, Marutya stated that the court had considered that Muvhuti was a first offender and did not waste the court’s time and resources.
She said she recognised that Muvhuti was a family man and had children who are under-age to look after.
Most of the money was recovered and Muvhuti did not benefit enough from it. Said the magistrate:
However, the accused breached the trust between him and the complainant who is the company.
Allegations were that on 21 December 2023, at around 5 PM, Muvhuti connived with Jeremiah Kwenda and Phineas Moyo, who are security guards at Mohamed Mussa and hid in the shop where he was locked inside when it closed.
He used a sharp metal object to break a black portable safe away from the wall and took it away.
On 22 December, the business discovered the safe was missing and made a police report.
On 25 December, detectives arrested Muvhuti in Mupande Village, Chief Chitsungo in Pfungwe, where he had gone to pay lobola to his in-laws.
The court heard that Muvhuti led the police to the recovery of US$186 100 at his home in Chitungwiza.
Muvhuti also led police to the recovery of a black portable safe that was positively identified by the complainant as the one that had been stolen from the shop together with the US$195 000.
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