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Innocent poses with his wife
The only sin that Innocent Thomas committed was to whistle blow about a vehicle that was stolen at a Catholic Church in Machinjiri, Blantyre.
When he noticed how quickly his fellow taxi driver at Kapenga taxi rank who claimed to have bought the car changed the paint and registration number among other features, he alerted the police. He worked undercover and led the police to the garage where the vehicle was undergoing major changes and went further to lead the police to where the purported owner had relocated to.
In return the Anti-Motor Vehicle Police implicated him in the matter. He was thrown in jail where he has spent almost two years and was charged with “Theft of a Motor Vehicle” contrary to Section 278 of the Penal Code. He suffered a broken arm while in police custody which he nurses till date.
Legal Aid Bureau took up the matter and in a twist of events, one police officer testified in defense of the accused. The police officer narrated how the accused for five years was a reliable police informant whose information assisted police to bust a number of criminal syndicates, including the recovery of the vehicle in question.
The court wondered how one would go to such great length to assist in solving a case he partook in. The state having failed to prove the allegation beyond reasonable doubt, Innocent was proved “innocent”.
Legally aided Innocent Thomas is now a free man after the Principal Resident Magistrate Court found him innocent of the charge of theft of a motor vehicle.
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