A 70 year old grandfather has been sentenced to jail for stealing three bicycles from his neighbours.Kasama magistrate Kelvin Soma sentenced the septuagenarian, who it emerged in court was a previous offender recently released from prison for another offence, to one year imprisonment for each bicycle.
Alex Mwelwa a general worker admitted stealing the three bicycles belonging to three different individuals of Chisanga village in Kasama.
According to the particulars of the case, in count one, Mwelwa on January 30, 2014 stole one bicycle worth K750, belonging to Darius Kapepa. In the second and third counts Mwelwa was accused of stealing two bicycles on February 16 and 18, 2014, belonging to Crystos Chisunga and Julias Mulenga respectively both valued at K1,
300.
Mwelwa pleaded for leniency because he was a family man.In response to the plea for leniency, Mr Soma said though Mwelwa was an old man entitled to mercy, he was not showing signs of reform because he was recently a jail bird.
“You are a senior citizen who must not be proud of stealing but be resting at home. ‘This court is aware that you were recently sentenced by another court and it’s now clear that you don’t want to change,therefore a custodial sentence is inescapable in this case,” Mr Soma said.
The magistrate described Mwelwa as a danger to society who had cultivated a culture of stealing who needed a custodial sentence for reflection on his deeds.
“I therefore sentence you to 12 months simple imprisonment for each count. The sentences will run concurrently,” he said.
he needs urgent deleverence from god.
Atolelefye imwe
Ba Mwelwa nabo, instead of saying natolele fye?
@Nostradamus
please you should help your relatives, at 70yrs sure still natolele fye,,, anyway blame Sata, by now all these villagers would have had bicycles donated by GBM
The reason is he was a f00! at forty, aging and not maturing!
He should have been given 100 years behind bars to save his soul!
Iye Shikulu Nyongo uyu!
Bembas are natural thieves, even at 70 they can not be trusted.
Mwaba Jr, you are a pathetic tribalist with a brain of a bat! This man has a psychological problem known as kleptomania. Whenever he sees a bicycle, he gets an uncontrollable urge to ride it from where it is. He actually needs psycho-social conselling and community service rather than send a 70 year old man to prison. Our judicial system needs serious reforms.
If Silvio Berlusconi can involve himself in grand lacerny and corruption and never see the inside of a prison, this old man deserves a different form of punishment than a custodial sentence.
And for Tongas it is women related issues rape, hammering pigs and dog, marrying Mpali etc
Mwaice wakwa Sata?
KEKEKEKEKEKE!
where is Justice ????? Politician steals billions = bail and after a few months ati aquited, now a poor citizen steals 3 bicycles(k750) = 3 years…
This is why we ask for your support in our quest to come up with a better constitution than what we have in draft form!
Stealing ni stealing,people in rural areas need bicycles
Even the little that a poor man thinks he has shall be taken away from him!
We should never embrace the spirit of poverty!
It is evil to be poor and not do something about it.
I am talking about Zambia, a rich poor country whose inhabitants cannot have dominion over the resources at their disposal.
This is poverty of the mind.
A mind that lacks imagination always leads to abundant poverty!
70 year old man is a senior citizen. He must be living by example. Bemba’s are a problem for sure when it comes to thieving! Like father like son, like grandpa like grandson, all thieves. One can only imagine how he was in his youth….a crooked thief.
Have you checked his mental status? Obviously he didnt even know what he was doing at his age and the hard life he has endured,let the doctor inspect his health and declare him insane!
Most likely he is suffering from alzheimer’s disease and keeps sneaking into people’s houses and riding off with their bicycles. There is need to check the alignment of his mental faculties.
All those calling Bembas thieves are ignorant for real! There is no tribe, race or creed where there are no thieves. They even exist among Jews, God’s own chosen people.
@ Mudentele,
Amazing how much ignorant most Zambians are! It is shocking to know that they even call people by tribe when someones actions ere exposed due to unknown circumstances. What is so provoking is not only the ignorance with the self proclaimed educated people but also the police force! Government should provide free serminars country wide on life’s basics at all levels because this is unbecoming! I will not be surprised to see mentally ill people being abused on the streets and everyone taking a good laugh at it, shame indeed!
@Cindy
diseases like alzhemer are ignored completely!!!
@ Ndobo,
unbelievably true!
Did you check Sata’s mental status before you voted him in office?
The Constitution is silent on this one.
I am glad most bloggers are waking up to the reality that Zambia’s constitution is so hollow, even in its current draft form!
Why not learn from Americans who have done such a great constitution?
Why trying to re-invent the wheel?
Just Zambianise the American constitution and forget about the relic of the British Protectorate Constitution which only serves to perpetuate ignorance and suffering!
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