Crimes and Courts
BULAWAYO – A 15-year-old boy from Nkulumane suburb has been sentenced to three years of confinement at Whawha Training Centre after being convicted of stealing a motor vehicle and driving without a licence.
The juvenile, whose name is withheld due to his age, appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mark Dzira, who described the offence as serious and symptomatic of a worrying trend.
“You have committed a serious offence of stealing a car, and prison life is not easy. If you do not change your ways, you will destroy your future,” Magistrate Dzira said during sentencing.
He expressed concern that motor vehicle theft, often associated with hardened criminals, was now being committed by the youth.
The court heard that on September 15, Lloyd Mashamba (37) parked his Honda Fit vehicle, valued at US$3,500, at the Cooland Day and Night Car Park in Nkulumane. He locked it and went home with the keys, only to find it missing upon his return the following morning.
After reporting the theft to the police, investigations led to the teenager, who had driven the stolen vehicle to Manemo shopping centre without a driver’s licence. The vehicle was later recovered.
In his ruling, Magistrate Dzira emphasised that the sentence was corrective rather than purely punitive. He pointed to the boy’s personal circumstances, noting that he had been taken in by his elder sister after the death of their parents.
“The sentence is meant to correct and rehabilitate, not to punish,” Dzira stated.
“Spending three years at Whawha Training Centre, a rehabilitation facility for juveniles, will give the boy a chance to change his behaviour and build a better future.”
The magistrate noted that despite the love and care provided by his sister, the boy had chosen a path of disrespect and theft, both at home and in the community.
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