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| National |
| K9m robbery convict escapes,K9m robbery convict escapes |
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by
Peter Makossah,Peter Makossah, 29 December 2003
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09:29:04
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One of the five convicts in the K9 million ($84,905) teachers salary in the Northern Region City of Mzuzu escaped from prison and a prison warder has been jailed for this.
Mzuzu Magistrate’s court on Saturday sentenced senior warder Eliya Yobe Nthara, 49, to two years imprisonment with hard labour for allowing Samson Duwe to escape.
Duwe was serving a five-year jail-term for being involved in robbery at Ekwendeni Police Station where K9 million meant for teachers’ salaries was stolen in October this year.
Passing sentence Mzuzu acting chief resident magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa-usiwa said allowing a criminal to escape from custody is a serious offence because such a criminal poses a great danger to the society.
“The convict had committed serious offence of armed robbery. The money involved was too much and above all else he had only served one and half months out of his five-year-jail term.
“Being experienced, the prison warder should have known better that he was dealing with a dangerous criminal, an armed robber. The court finds it very immaterial for an armed robber to be left scot-free while under custody,” said Usiwa-usiwa
The court learnt through Mzuzu police station prosecutor Dickens Mwambazi that Nthara on December 18, 2003 took Duwe out from a prison cell to his house in Masasa squatter township in Mzuzu city, almost half a kilometre away from Mzuzu Prison, to collect pieces of wire for a charcoal burner (mbaula).
He said before the two reached the warder’s house Duwe asked Nthara to allow him to go and buy tomatoes some 200 metres away and he disappeared.”
“We strongly believe that the too connived to let him escape. We are told they are neighbours and that gives us a clue as to why Nthara took out Duwe from the prison cell,” Mwambazi told the court.
In mitigation Nthara pleaded with the court to consider a non-custodial sentence for him because he has family obligations, looks after seven orphans and is a first offender who has served the Malawi Prison Service for over 22 years.
But the magistrate said the court would not grant him a suspended sentence because the escapee is a dangerous criminal and that the society is at risk of insecurity because of the warder’s carelessness.
Two women were last week convicted but given suspended sentences for being found in possession of some of the money stolen during the robbery.
,
One of the five convicts in the K9 million ($84,905) teachers salary in the Northern Region City of Mzuzu escaped from prison and a prison warder has been jailed for this.
Mzuzu Magistrate’s court on Saturday sentenced senior warder Eliya Yobe Nthara, 49, to two years imprisonment with hard labour for allowing Samson Duwe to escape.
Duwe was serving a five-year jail-term for being involved in robbery at Ekwendeni Police Station where K9 million meant for teachers’ salaries was stolen in October this year.
Passing sentence Mzuzu acting chief resident magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa-usiwa said allowing a criminal to escape from custody is a serious offence because such a criminal poses a great danger to the society.
“The convict had committed serious offence of armed robbery. The money involved was too much and above all else he had only served one and half months out of his five-year-jail term.
“Being experienced, the prison warder should have known better that he was dealing with a dangerous criminal, an armed robber. The court finds it very immaterial for an armed robber to be left scot-free while under custody,” said Usiwa-usiwa
The court learnt through Mzuzu police station prosecutor Dickens Mwambazi that Nthara on December 18, 2003 took Duwe out from a prison cell to his house in Masasa squatter township in Mzuzu city, almost half a kilometre away from Mzuzu Prison, to collect pieces of wire for a charcoal burner (mbaula).
He said before the two reached the warder’s house Duwe asked Nthara to allow him to go and buy tomatoes some 200 metres away and he disappeared.”
“We strongly believe that the too connived to let him escape. We are told they are neighbours and that gives us a clue as to why Nthara took out Duwe from the prison cell,” Mwambazi told the court.
In mitigation Nthara pleaded with the court to consider a non-custodial sentence for him because he has family obligations, looks after seven orphans and is a first offender who has served the Malawi Prison Service for over 22 years.
But the magistrate said the court would not grant him a suspended sentence because the escapee is a dangerous criminal and that the society is at risk of insecurity because of the warder’s carelessness.
Two women were last week convicted but given suspended sentences for being found in possession of some of the money stolen during the robbery.
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