Man steals from MP's farm

Three individuals appeared before a Kezi magistrate after they were apprehended for the theft of scrap metal from a farm owned by a Member of Parliament's spouse.

Shelton Nyathi (20), Thulani Ngwenya (23), and Samuel Mugwagwa (37) stood before Kezi resident magistrate Busani Sibanda, facing charges of theft.

Nyathi admitted his guilt in the case, while Ngwenya and Mugwagwa pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In their joint defense, Ngwenya and Mugwagwa claimed that Nyathi had informed them that the farm belonged to his deceased uncle and had requested their assistance in collecting scrap metal. They argued that the State had failed to provide conclusive evidence, and after a thorough trial, Ngwenya and Mugwagwa were acquitted.

Nyathi was found guilty and subsequently sentenced to 24 months in prison. However, 10 of those months were suspended on the condition that he refrains from engaging in any dishonest activities within the next five years, with the provision that a conviction would result in a non-fine sentence.

The remaining 14 months of his sentence were suspended under the condition that he performs 490 hours of community service at the Kezi magistrate courts.

During the sentencing, the magistrate noted that Nyathi had planned to steal from a farm jointly owned by Member of Parliament (quota-system) Ross Moyo's husband and Christopher Ncube, who serves as an aide to Moyo's wife.

In his plea for leniency, Nyathi revealed that he was an orphan and explained that he resided with his 74-year-old brother-in-law. Another mitigating factor was that all the stolen property had been recovered.

The incident occurred on October 7, when the trio journeyed from Kezi Business Centre to Ncube's farm in a truck and was apprehended while in the process of loading scrap metal onto the vehicle, leading to their subsequent arrest.