A convicted copper cable thief remains behind bars, desperately hoping his family can find the P70,000 required to secure his freedom.
Having admitted his guilt before Molepolole Magistrates Court, Lawrence Murindi, 32, was fined 70k but warned that failure to pay would see him sent to prison for five years. It is a small fortune the Zimbabwean simply does not have.
“I’m asking to be given time to look for piece jobs so I can pay back the money. May the court also be lenient when passing the sentence since I didn’t benefit from the crime and also consider the months I already spent in jail,” begged Murindi, who has been locked up on remand ever since his arrest in 12 May 2023.
Presiding over the matter, Principal Magistrate Solomon Setshedi took this into account, also noting Murindi appeared remorseful, was a first-time offender and saved court’s time by pleading guilty. He countered this by noting copper cable theft was becoming an increasing problem in and around Molepolole.
“The most aggravating factor is that offences of this nature have become frequent in this jurisdiction. This calls for stiff penalties upon offenders, in passing sentence the court must balance the interest of the society, the state and the offender. The statuary punishment for this offence is a fine of not less than P50,000 but not more than P1 million or to imprisonment of a term not less than four years but not more than seven years or both,” highlighted Magistrate Setshedi.
There was at least some good news for Murindi, as the Magistrate backdated the sentence to the time of his incarceration, effectively taking two years off his prison time.
Murindi and fellow Zimbabwean national, Dingani Moyo, 32, are accused of stealing nine BTC copper cables, measuring 145m in total and worth P69,031.95, from Ntsono ward on 8 May 2023. Murindi admitted taking the cables and loading them into a Mazda Titan truck before he was stopped and arrested along the A12 road.
Having initially maintained his innocence, Moyo, who unlike Murindi was found to be in the country illegally, had a change of heart during his co-accused’s sentencing, asking court to sentence him as well. However, the Magistrate explained that since he pleaded not guilty to the charge, he will have to wait for trial; both men now face a tense waiting game, albeit completely different ones!
