A 19-year-old man of Lusaka will spend the next year in jail for stealing four pairs of trousers while another man risks going in for stealing three pairs of underwear in Shoprite stores.

Magistrate Felix Kaoma yesterday sent Thomas Tembo to jail after pleading guilty to stealing four pairs of trousers valued at K550. Tembo of Bauleni township, who was charged with theft, stole the pairs of trousers on August 20 this year, the property of Tasila Mumba.

The court heard that on the material day, Ms Mumba had just finished washing her husband’s clothes and hung them on the line to dry.
Upon coming out of the house, Ms Mumba saw Tembo getting the trousers from the line and fleeing upon seeing her, a move which prompted her to shout for help.

Tembo was later apprehended by passers-by and taken to Bauleni Police Post. Asked what he wanted to do with the trousers, Tembo said he wanted to be wearing them. In mitigation, Tembo pleaded with the court not to send him to jail because he is a breadwinner.

Passing judgment, magistrate Kaoma said Tembo deserved leniency for the offence, which carries a five-year maximum sentence. “When you come out [of prison] you should be a good boy. Thou shall not reap where you did not sow,” magistrate Kaoma told the crest-fallen Tembo. Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man of Chipata township in Lusaka has pleaded guilty to stealing three pairs of underwear from Shoprite on August 14 this year.
Bwalya appeared before magistrate Brian Simachela yesterday and pleaded guilty to the theft charge.