The Ntchisi First Grade Magistrate Court has sentenced 19-year-old James Mwayi to 4 years imprisonment with hard labour for burglary and theft.
Spokesperson for Mponela Police, Macpatson Msadala, says Mwayi committed the offence on February 8, 2024 when he broke the window of a house belonging to a certain business lady (name withheld).
Msadala says the convict managed to go away with two cell phones and later sold them.
Mwayi pleaded for leniency since he is a first-time offender but Police Prosecutor Tionge Nkhoma asked the court to give the convict a stiffer punishment to act as a warning to would-be offenders.
Mwayi hails from Champhulikira Village in the area of Traditional Authority Mponela in Dowa District.