Online Reporter
Getrude Manyande
A 27-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo man was sentenced to 12 months in prison after breaking into a Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) officer’s home at night and stealing a gas cylinder.
Bongani Nyathi was convicted on his own plea of guilty to unlawful entry and theft by Bulawayo Western Commonage Magistrate Sikhethile Moyo.
Six months of his sentence were suspended for five years on condition that he does not commit a similar offence during that period, leaving him to serve an effective six-month jail term.
In passing sentence, Moyo said unlawfully entering another person’s home, particularly at night while occupants are asleep, constitutes a serious violation of the constitutional right to privacy.
“The Constitution of Zimbabwe protects the privacy of every person’s home, and no one has the right to arbitrarily enter another person’s premises without lawful authority or consent. You took property from the complainant’s house without authorisation, intending to permanently deprive him of it,” she said.
The magistrate noted that Nyathi had pleaded guilty, thereby saving the court’s time.
“The offence ordinarily attracts a starting point of 24 months’ imprisonment because of the aggravating circumstances.
However, after taking into account the mitigating factors, including the guilty plea, the court reduced the starting point to 12 months before suspending half of the sentence,” she said.
According to the State, on June 24 Nyathi unlawfully entered the Nkulumane home of Admire Samukange, a ZPCS officer.
The court heard that Nyathi forced open a locked door using an unknown object before gaining entry into the house.
He stole a blue 7kg Cadac gas cylinder that had been kept in the passage.
The theft was reported to police and subsequent investigations led to Nyathi’s arrest.
