ALCOHOL GIVES ME THE COURAGE TO STEAL, MAN TELLS COURT IN MITIGATION AS COURT JAILS HIM FOR 24 MONTHS
A 36-year-old man caused laughter in a Kaoma court after he told Magistrate, Bestin Hamasiki during mitigation that he gets the courage to steal anything whenever he takes alcohol and that the court should have mercy on him for he did not know what he was doing.
Imasiku Siisi further told the court that he was a double orphan who looks after his old grandmother and a ten-year-old daughter.
Siisi said that sending him to prison would create hell for the persons under his custody.
ZANIS reports that this is in a case in which Siisi was charged with breaking into a building and committing a felony contrary to section 303(a) of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
Facts before the court are that Siisi on 23rd of March 2023 around 23:00 hours did break into a shop at Kaoma’s old market where he got away with assorted clothes and hair weaves worth K36,630.00, property belonging to Sandra Kabanda, a business lady of Kaoma.
Siisi appeared in court and upon his own admission of facts, Magistrate Hamasiki sentenced him to 24 months imprisonment with hard labour.
During mitigation, Siisi told the court that beer gives him a lot of courage to steal anything he comes across and that he was a double orphan who takes care of his grandmother and his 10-year-old daughter.
“Your honour, I am a double orphan and I take care of my grandmother and my 10-year-old daughter , so if you sentence me to prison these people will suffer, I’m the one that takes care of them. I am failing to understand myself because each time I take beer is when I have courage to steal. Please your honour have mercy on me, I don’t know what makes me behave like that,” he pleaded.
In passing judgment, Magistrate Hamasiki said he had considered Siisi’s mitigation and the fact that he was a first offender and sentenced him to two years imprisonment with hard labour upon his own admission.