Gibson Mhaka
A 39-YEAR-OLD Zimbabwean man who was slapped with a four-year jail term in Botswana for burglary and theft left the court in stitches when he asked for leniency claiming when he committed the offence, he wanted to raise money to acquire a driver’s licence.
Abraham Mahlani begged for leniency when he appeared before a Francistown magistrate where he was convicted of burglary and theft.
In mitigation, Mahlani pleaded with the court for leniency, saying when he committed the offence, he wanted to raise money to apply for a driver’s licence.
However, his dreams of being behind the wheel were put on hold after the magistrate condemned him to prison for four years.
“You are sentenced to four years in prison for burglary and three years for theft. The two sentences are to run concurrently and the sentence is backdated to March 29th when you were incarcerated. Properties stolen will be returned to the owner,” the magistrate ruled.
According to reports by one of Botswana’s popular newspapers, The Voice, the court heard that on 23 March 2022 Mahlani destroyed the house burglar bar padlock and a latch to force entry into a house belonging to Thandeka Letsholo and Botho Amantle Mokgatle in Francistown’s Maipaafela suburb.
While inside Mahlani then stole several items, which included: a television, laptop, All-Star shoes, groceries, fridge, microwave, toiletry, and a cooking gas cylinder, all valued at P11 335.
The matter was reported to Tatitown Police the following day, leading to the arrest of Mahlani.
Meanwhile, another Zimbabwean man, Johane Muwirimi (30) who was also arrested for transporting the stolen goods in his Honda Fit was exonerated after he told the court that he was not aware that the goods were stolen.
When he was asked to produce his travel documents, Muwirimi failed to do so and was therefore charged with a single count of entering that country illegally.
He was then ordered to pay P1, 500 for being in Botswana unlawfully, failure to which he would be jailed for six months.
