The Senior Resident Magistrate Court in Liwonde has given a 2-year suspended sentence to Jailosi Mussa, an employee at NACALA Logistics Company and another man Madalitso Phiri, following their conviction.
In the case, Jailosi Mussa along with Rameck Tsukuluza and Henry Taulo were all charged with the offence of theft by servant contrary to section 278 as read with section 286(1) of the Penal Code, and Madalitso Phiri was charged with the offence of theft.
The allegation was that three of the defendants, who were all employees of NACALA Logistics Company, each stole a fuel card, the property of the company, from which 100 litres of petrol fuel from each card was, with the help of Phiri, withdrawn and converted into cash at Fairway Fueling Station in Zomba.
The allegation against Phiri was that he took three fueling cards stored by the other three defendants, withdrew and converted into cash 90 litres of petrol from each card at Fairways Fueling Station. The total amount of fuel alleged to have been stolen was K302,400.00
In Court, all the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and the matter went to full trial. Lameck Tsukuluza and Henery Taulo were acquitted following the full trial. Jailosi Mussa and Madalitso Phiri were convicted on their respective charges.
On conviction of the two, Legal Aid Bureau through Senior Legal Aid Advocate Hanleck Ching’anda prayed for a suspended sentence or in the alternative that the two be sentenced to pay a fine.
In its ruling on sentence, the Court sentenced Mussa and Phiri, now convicts, to 18 months imprisonment and 12 months imprisonment respectively. Both sentences have been suspended for 2 years on condition that the convicts should not commit another offence within the said period.
Further, the Court has ordered the two convicts to pay back the 270 litres of petrol fuel at the current selling price as per section 32 of the Penal Code. Accordingly, the Court computed and ordered the convicts to jointly pay K518,500.00, which is to be shared equally between the two convicts in the sum of K259,250.
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