WINDHOEK – A young student who walked into a Windhoek shoe shop, put on a new pair of shoes and walked out of the store was fined N$1 500 or three months imprisonment on a conviction of theft in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court this week.
The young man, a 28 -year old student at the International University of Management (IUM), Simunja Lifasi, pleaded guilty to a charge of theft before Magistrate Justine Asino. He was charged with theft after he walked into Stuttafords on Saturday August 24, put on a pair of shoes valued at N$239.95, left his old pair there and tried to exit the store with the new shoes.
In mitigation Lifasi said that he is a student and is a single father of three children aged 6 years, four years and six months respectively. He informed the court that his children are staying with their mother in Karasburg.
On a question from Asino why he stole the shoes, Lifasi merely shrugged his shoulders and said that he did not have a “valid” reason. He requested a suspended sentence as he “is a first offender and did not waste the court’s time”. He further indicated to the court that he could only afford a fine of N$400.
State prosecutor Samantha Diergaardt on the other hand told Asino that theft out of shops are serious and extremely prevalent in the Windhoek district and is on the increase. She said that Lifasi was very well aware that his actions were wrong and he would have succeeded were it not for the vigilance of the security guard.
Magistrate Asino then told Lifasi that there seems to be a trend in Windhoek for students from higher learning institutions to steal from shops, but this would not be tolerated. She said that shop owners and the society at large need to be protected from such deeds. She further said that while Lifasi is a first offender and the father of three minor children he did not give a reason for stealing the shoes and as such slapped him with a fine of N$1 500 or three months in prison.
By Roland Routh