There is anger among Kadoma residents after magistrate Ranga Rwizi sentenced fuel attendant Takesure Josi to 495 hours of community service if he restitute over US$7 000 he stole from his employer through faking a robbery.
Josi was charged with contravening section 3 of the Explosives Act and Purchasing without a permit some explosives which he used to detonate a cash safe and partially damage some building structures at Kadoma”s Marcsherp complex, before stealing over 8000 USD .
Some 1500 USD was recovered .
He has since pleaded guilty to the charge and was handed a 30 month jail sentence which was however commuted to 495 hrs of community service subject to satisfying certain conditions .
8 months will be suspended if he restitutes 7570 USD to his employer ,while a further 5 will be suspended on condition he doesn”t commit an act of theft within 5 years .
A further 17 months will be suspended if he completes 495 hours of community service at Shurugwi Magistrates court .
However, lawyers said the sentence was not deterrent enough because Josi also committed other crimes to cover up the initial crime.
“Robbery in itself is a serious crime that warrant a lengthy custodial sentence. Dealing in explosives is also a dangerous crime. In this case, he should have also faced arson charges because he admitted to trying to raze the whole building down to cover up his crime. He also put the lives of people in danger,” said a lawyer on condition of anonymity.
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“All this warrants a lengthy custodial sentence not a community service if he restitute the money. I hope this case will be revisited after a review.”
