32 months in jail for stealing from 32 houses

Mashudu Mambo

A 25-YEAR-OLD man from Makwika Village, Hwange in Matabeleland North province has been slapped with an effective 32-month jail sentence for 32 counts of unlawful entry.

Future Ncube appeared before a Hwange magistrate facing charges of aggravated unlawful entry. He was convicted and sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment. Twenty-two months of the sentence was suspended on condition that he restitutes 17 victims of $33 277 on or before 31 August 2024.

A suspended six months from a previous sentence was brought into effect. He will serve 32 months effectively.

The court heard that on an unknown day in May, the victim placed his Itel P37 cellphone inside his bedroom before retiring to bed.

Ncube came during the night while the victim was asleep, stole the phone through a broken window and walked away unnoticed.

The victim reported the matter to the police and investigations were carried out.

During investigations, police uncovered that Ncube broke into 31 other houses in Makwika village targeting cellphones, between December 2023 and May this year.

He was arrested on 24 May after police received information that he was caught stealing cellphones at Lubangwe Business Centre in Hwange.