adminMarvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
PRISON officers had to drag a Gwanda man out of a courtroom when he refused to leave the dock in protest over a magistrate’s ruling.
Solomon Mathuthu, 70, of Bengo area in Guyu was fined $200 or in default 40 days imprisonment after he was convicted of malicious damage to property.
Mathuthu however, refused to leave the dock telling the court that he would rather spend the 40 days in jail than pay the $200 fine.
“I would rather go to jail Your Worship than pay a fine of $200. I don’t have that kind of money and there is nothing I can do about it,” Mathuthu told presiding magistrate Sheila Nazombe on Monday.
When he was ordered to step down, Mathuthu remained in the dock trying to explain why he could not pay the $200 fine.
Two prison officers had to drag him out of the courtroom but he kept saying, “I still have something to say.”
Mathuthu who destroyed the foundation of a neighbour’s house under construction claiming that the stand on which the house was being built belonged to him, was convicted on his own plea.
“I admit to committing the offence but I did so because the complainant had been ordered by community leaders and the police not to construct anything on that ground but he decided to go against the order,” said Mathuthu
Nazombe said Mathuthu should not have taken the law into his hands.
The prosecutor, Alexander Moyo, narrated how Mathuthu destroyed the foundation of the building worth $50 on January 25.
Online Reporter