Teenager jailed 10 years for robbing ‘Mose wa Lero’ phone
A 19 year old man in Mzuzu is going to serve 10 years imprisonment with hard labour for robbery with violence and stealing a ‘ZTE’ mobile phone popularly known as ‘Mose wa lero’ in Malawi.
A ‘ZTE’ handset costs less than MK3,000.
The First Grade Magistrate Court in Mzuzu convicted Clement Tembo of Batumeyo Village, Traditional Authority Mmbelwa in Mzimba district on his own plea of guilty.
He was charged with an offence of robbery with violence contrary to section 301 of the Penal Code. The offence carries a maximum sentence of death or life in prison. 
But in mitigation Tembo asked for lenience saying he committed the offence under the influence of alcohol.
Tembo also said he is an orphan and claimed he is a bread winner for his relatives.
The court heard that on the evening of 16th September, 2011 at Mchengautuwa Township in Mzuzu, the convict, together with a friend Dan Chombe waylaid Gift Banda as he approached the township’s graveyard and attacked him.
They left him bleeding and took the ‘ZTE’ handset, the only item he had.
Chombe pleaded not guilty and is in Police custody pending trial.
Sergeant Andrew Singini, prosecuting, asked the court to impose a stiff sentence, saying the offence was a felony and that the convict had planned to commit the offence.
Passing sentence Magistrate Anthony Banda said people who commit such serious offences whatever the circumstances in their favour, should always expect an immediate custodial sentence.
“This is one of the serious offences that cause people to be afraid of enjoying their freedoms and liberties. Such offences must be dealt with in the manner that reflects the seriousness with which the legislature views them.
“It is for these reasons that I now proceed to sentence Clement Tembo to 10 years IHL,” Banda said.
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