Five robbers jailed for 10 years: Hacked Phalombe couple

The Phalombe First Grade Magistrate Court has convicted and sentenced five men to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour for robbery with violence.

Accoring to Sgt. Augustus Nkhwazi,  Police Public Relations Officer for Phalombe, the five were among the group of thugs that attacked the family of Mr Luka Mangani 31 years of Mankhanamba village T/A Kaduya in Phalombe.

The thugs were armed with panga knives when they attacked the victim on the night of 12th September 2014.

They hacked Mangani and his wife before they went away with money amounting to Mk825, 000.00 and a sports bicycle.

Appearing before the Phalombe First Grade Magistrate Court, they all denied the charges levelled against them.

However, the police prosecution team paraded four witnesses who testified against the five. The court found the five guilty of the offence  of robbery with violence.

Passing the sentence, First Grade Magistrate Felix Mandala noted that the offence committed by the five was a serious one.

He said they inflicted too much pain to the victim who was hacked and at the same time lost his money and property.

The Magistrate  noted that such acts by the accused pose threat to the people in Phalombe and the country at large. He therefore sentenced the five to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour for other would be offenders to learn.

The five are Mike Maxwell 29 of Mzizira village T/A Mthiramanja and Alick Chikopa 26 of Naliya village T/A Chikumbu in Mulanje, Bizwick Chizombwe 22 of Ngoniwa village T/A Nkalo and Masautso Kaipa 31 of Mulandani village T/A Mpama in Chiradzulu and Victor Maseya 25 of Mtambalika village T/A Njema in Mulanje.