adminMasvingo Correspondent
A PARDONED inmate says he stole to raise bus fare to go to his rural home. Polite Gonese from Masvingo benefited from the recent Presidential amnesty which saw about 2,000 prisoners being freed across the country. Gonese was convicted on his own plea of guilty to theft when he appeared before Masvingo magistrate Oliver Mudzongachiso on Friday.He was jailed for six effective months for stealing cellphones in order to raise bus fare back home.
He will, however, serve an effective 16 months jail term after Mudzongachiso added 10 months suspended from his earlier conviction before being pardoned.
Gonese had served 12 months of the 20 months jail term on robbery charge after 10 months were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.
For the State, Fidelicy Nyamukondiwa told how on March 9, 2014 around 8AM Gonese proceeded to Mazorodze Clinic in Mucheke.
Upon arrival he got inside and stole two mobile phones plugged into a socket for charging.
The court heard that Gonese stole the cellphones while the owner, Theresa Musodzi, a nurse at the clinic, was attending to patients.
The court heard that Musodzi went to where she had put the phones for charging but found them gone.
She rushed to make a report to the police leading to Gonese’s arrest.
Online Reporter