ROBBER (23) JAILED 34 YEARS

MANZINI - For committing plenty of house break-ins, theft and robbery offences, mostly at teachers houses, a man was sentenced to 68 years imprisonment without an option of a fine.

Phiwokwakhe Fana Fakudze (23) of Tikhuba, was sentenced by Senior Magistrate Sindisile Zwane yesterday. 
This was after he was found guilty of committing a total of 14 house break-ins with intent to steal and theft, and also robbery.

suspended

However, the magistrate suspended half of the sentence for a period of 10 years on condition he did not commit similar offences.
Fakudze committed the offences together with two others, Machawe Smally Mtsetfwa (19) of Kukhanyeni and Mathokoza Pork Matsenjwa (23) of Mambane, who were sentenced to 33 years and 20 years imprisonment respectively.

Half of their sentences were also suspended for a period of 10 years under similar conditions.
Most of the houses the three offenders broke into belonged to teachers, and they would do so during school holidays.
 The teachers quarters included those from Lamawandla, Sigombeni, Ngculwini and St Philomena Primary schools, among others.
Most of the teachers when leading evidence, revealed that they were not around when they were contacted by neighbours to inform them that their houses had been broken into.

Khanyisile Dlamini, a teacher at Ngculwini High School, told the court that she was called by her colleagues who told her that her house had been broken into.
She said upon arrival, she found her turned upside down and her items, clothing and food stolen.
Part of the food items included beef, pork, sausages and russians.

closed

Tebukhosi Gama of Lamawandla High School said she had her LCD television, sheets, blankets and carpet stolen while schools were closed early this year.
She added that upon arrival at school, she discovered broken glasses on the ground and later discovered that the robbers had gained entry using a window, which they broke.
After breaking into Gama’s house, the robbers returned a few days later and broke into another teacher’s house, Ncamsile Nxumalo, and made away with a plasma television set, DVD player and a laptop.

In the robbery offence, two of the offenders, Fakudze and Mtsetfwa, broke into Elizabeth Morris’s house while she was with her husband and attacked them, threatening to kill them both if they did not surrender cash and valuable items.

The elderly couple was tied with a rope and had pillow cases stuffed into their mouths. They were later rescued by community members.
 The former Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation employee, told the court that the two accused persons also took an iron and threaten to burn them with it before ransacking their house and stealing their cash (E5 000) and other household items.

A taxi man, Ephraem Shongwe confessed to the court that the accused used to hire him to ferry the stolen house items to different destinations.

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