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Cynthia Dube, Court Reporter
TWO men who stole more than $12 000 and property worth $669 from a Bulawayo businesswoman’s car that was parked outside her shop along Fort Street have been sentenced to four years in prison.
Babs Nyakudziwanza (33) and Golden Makoni (28) both from Makokoba suburb were convicted on their own plea of guilty to theft when they appeared before Magistrate Mr Tinashe Tashaya.
They were each sentenced to four years in jail with two years suspended for five years.
“Nine months have been suspended for five years on a condition that you do not commit a similar crime and the other 15 months are suspended on a condition that you restitute $4 000 each to the complainant,” said Mr Tashaya.
The magistrate said Nyakudziwanza and Makoni were a threat to society and as such deserved a custodial sentence.
Agreed facts are that the two unlocked Ms Caroline Dube’s Nissan Serena vehicle and stole $12 185, R400, P800, two cellphones, purses, a bank card, a driver’s licence and cosmetics.
Nyakudziwanza and Makoni, through their lawyer Mr Mlwelinkululeko Ncube of Ndove, Museta and Partners, pleaded for a non-custodial sentence.
Mr Ncube said jailing Nyakudziwanza and Makoni was tantamount to also jailing their wives and children and suggested that they be ordered to perform community service.
Prosecuting, Mr Nkathazo Dlodlo said on December 30 at Cumberland building, Nyakudziwanza and Makoni or one or more of them opened the door of a Nissan Serena and discovered that Ms Dube’s daughter was seated inside.
They told her that she was being called by her mother inside the shop and she left.
“The accused persons took $12 185, R4 000, P800, a Sony Experia, a Samsung neo pocket cellphone, four bunches of keys, a bottle of perfume, one box of eye shadow, one lipstick, two lip gloss, one IPhone charger, a driver’s licence, two national identity cards, one bank card, one cardone poultry stress cardpack, one padlock, and three purses while Ms Dube was inside her shop,” Mr Dlodlo said.
He said police recovered $1 729, R1 000 and some of the property including national identity, a bank card and a driver’s licence from Nyakudziwanza.
Mr Dlodlo said police also managed to recover $1 187, R1 000 and P300 from Makoni.
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