Poverty drove me to steal - convicted Zimbabwean tells Botswana court

A Zimbabwean man convicted of breaking into houses to steal food and electrical gadgets recently reportedly told the Francistown magistrates' court that he was driven by poverty to commit crime.

Nigel Murirwa (30) of Marondera, Zimbabwe was sentenced to an effective three- year jail term for three counts of burglary, stealing from a dwelling house and possession of suspected stolen goods.

The Voice reported that Evidence tendered in court has revealed that Between December 28, 2014 and January 27, 2015, Murirwa was involved in a burglary and stealing incident.

On February 26, 2015, Murirwa was found in possession of suspected stolen goods.

According to court papers, Murirwa is said to have committed all the three offenses at Matshelagabedi village -15km east of Francistown in the northeastern part of the country.

He pleaded guilty to all the three charges. During mitigation, Murirwa told the court that he did not want to waste the court's precious time over clear issues hence his decision to plead guilty.

However, he had reasons for committing the offenses. He blamed abject poverty as the reason behind his decision to resort to criminal activities upon setting foot in this diamond rich nation of Botswana.

Like some Zimbabweans who flock into Botswana in search of greener pastures only to be disappointed upon realizing that it is not a walk in the park, Murirwa chose the criminal route in order to make ends meet.

"Your Worship, poverty drove me into committing these offenses. I have to take care of my children and wife back home. Since I could not find piece jobs, I chose the criminal way," supplicated Murirwa.

He said pressure was on him to ensure that his siblings and children are taken care of.

Besides fending for his children and siblings, Murirwa told the court that it would be a shame for him to fail his dependents.

Sentencing Murirwa, Francistown magistrate Sijabuliso Siziba took into consideration all the factors Murirwa raised in his mitigation.

He commended Murirwa for pleading guilty to the charges thereby not wasting court's time by engaging in a long winding trial over clear issues.

However, the magistrate was quick to point out that poverty was not a reason enough to coerce someone into criminal acts.

Siziba advised Murirwa to learn to persevere because good things come to those who wait.