The Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court has sentenced Emmanuel Sande to five and a half years imprisonment for breaking into the National Cancer Centre at Kamuzu Central Hospital and stealing office property worth K12 million.
Assistant Superintendent Richard Kandeya of Lilongwe Police testified that the convict committed the crime on December 26, 2022.
Sande was caught by hospital staff while loading the stolen property into a 5-tonne van he had hired.
He had allegedly claimed that he was transferring the items to Chilinde Primary School for a cholera vaccine administration.
Kandeya argued for a harsh sentence, pointing out that Sande had premeditated the theft by hiring a truck and that his actions aimed to deprive the public of quality health services.
Senior Resident Magistrate Shukran Kumbani agreed with the prosecution and sentenced Sande to five and a half years in prison, effective from the date of his arrest.
Sande comes from Chiphwanya Village, Traditional Authority Tambala in Dedza District.