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Michael Magoronga Midlands Correspondent
A 19-year-old Silobela man was on Monday sentenced to 12 years in jail after he was convicted of two counts of stealing two beasts from his neighbour.

Lawrence Moyo of Village 5 Langton Ranch, Silobela was convicted on his own plea of guilty and was sentenced to nine years behind bars on each count.

Kwekwe Magistrate Mr Storey Rushambwa however, suspended three years from each count on condition of good behaviour.

In his defence, Moyo told the court that circumstances forced him to commit the crime because he needed money to have his young brother, who was recently diagnosed with cancer, treated.

“Your worship, I beg for lenience from this court. My young brother got diagnosed with cancer and I was forced to look for money for his treatment. I beg with this honourable court to give me a lighter sentence,” Moyo told the court.

Mr Rushambwa however, said Moyo should have opted for honest ways of looking for money than stealing.

“We sympathise with your brother’s condition but there are many other ways of looking for money like doing piece jobs and so on.

‘‘You should never commit a crime to solve a problem. You are therefore going to jail,” said Mr Rushambwa.

The State has it that, sometime in January at a date not known to the state, Ms Jinica Moyo drove her cattle into their kraal and retired to bed.

The accused person who lives a few houses away from the complainant, went to Moyo’s home and tiptoed into the kraal where he stole one heifer and escaped.

The accused, the court heard, went to Masiyephambili Village in Zhombe where he sold the beast for $500.

On the second count, on 14 February 2019, the accused person returned to the same kraal and stole a steer which he went on to slaughter at a nearby dip tank.

His luck ran out when he was spotted by an unidentified informer carrying meat and offals to his home.

The informer alerted the police, leading to the accused person’s arrest the following day.

Following police search, fresh meat, offals and two front legs of the beast were recovered from the accused person’s house.

Mr Freddy Ndoro prosecuted.