10 Jul 2019

A magistrate court in Maun has sentenced a 23-year-old man of Shashe ward in Maun, Phillip Mothai, 10 years in jail for robbery.

When passing the sentence on July 9, Principal Magistrate Mmoloki Sibanda said he had considered that there were no extenuating circumstances that led to the accused committing the crime.

He said Mothai had not shown remorse and had refused the honour granted by the court to mitigate.

Principal Magistrate Sibanda, therefore, said the sentence should be a lesson to Mothai and other perpetrators, “that one cannot rob and harm without facing consequences,” he said.

He said robbery was a serious offence.

He said the accused person used an Okapi knife to stab the victim three times and got away with a cellphone.

The complainant, he said, sustained injuries, which were treated at a health facility.

Magistrate Sibanda noted that the accused was not a first offender since he was sentenced to a burglary and theft case in 2016.

He said Mothai seemed to enjoy committing crime, with the second crime committed when he was 22 years old.

According to the charge sheet, the accused person armed with a knife stole a Chaoda cellphone valued at P500 from Mr Jacob Tshwabi, a security guard at Maun Senior Secondary School in July in 2018.

Prior to the robbery, the complainant was patrolling the hostels when he saw footprints at the girls’ hostels, which he followed.

The complainant saw the accused person inside the girls ablution block.  

The accused person then approached holding an Okapi knife, which he used to stab the complainant on his head and shoulder.

The accused person then took the complainant’s Chaoda cellphone and ran away.

Magistrate Sibanda ordered that the phone be returned to its lawful owner and that officials destroy the Okapi knife in question. ENDS