HARARE magistrate Estere Chivasa yesterday threw an 18-year-old man in jail for 12 years after she convicted him of theft and armed robbery.
Chivasa, however, suspended two years on condition that the accused does not commit a similar offence in the next five years.
“If one is convicted for armed robbery it means someone can have a lifetime custodial sentence since the offence has no fine according to our law,” she said.
Chivasa said while no one was injured when the crime was committed, the teenager Blessing Kabhunu was found in possession of an unregistered firearm.
She ruled that robbery involves premeditation hence it should be handled seriously considering that three people were robbed of their hard-earned wealth and the teenager deserved nothing but a custodial sentence.
“If a juvenile behaves like an adult he deserves a hard sentence. This court will not treat this matter with kids gloves since he was the mastermind of the offence,” she said.
In aggravation, prosecutor Ngoni Kaseke told the court the fact that the teenager was young does not take away the gravity of the offence.
Kaseke said Kabhunu committed the offence in a sophisticated manner where there was a lot of fraud involved including hiring a vehicle and using a stolen licence.
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It was the State’s case that on May 26 last year, Kabhunu and his accomplices, who are still at large, hatched a plan to rob people.
The State proved that Kambunu was armed with a pistol when he went to a pharmacy in Harare with two getaway cars before rushing when workers were depositing money in an office.
The robbers fired one shot, instructed everyone to lie on the floor and demanded cash before collecting US$71 000 and disappeared.
Kambunu was arrested in Mvuma for driving the vehicle which was used in the robbery.
