WINDHOEK – A 26-year-old father of one minor child pleaded guilty to a charge of theft more than two months after his initial court appearance for shoplifting chocolate.
During Henarik Araeb’s first court appearance on November 25 last year, the magistrates were on a weeklong retreat in Swakopmund and one of the clerk’s at the Magistrate’s Court Anna Andrias postponed the matter to January 27, 2014. Araeb spent two months and two days waiting to be advised of his legal rights and for his right to a formal bail hearing. On Monday Araeb pleaded guilty to theft before Magistrate Jo-Rina Jaggere.
He was convicted accordingly of stealing 10 Beacon Avory Cream Chocolates valued at N$17.95 each from Total Service Station on Robert Mugabe Avenue on November 23. In mitigation he told the court that he is unmarried and the father of a five-month-old child. He said that he is unemployed, but used to do casual work before his arrest and subsequent incarceration. Araeb pleaded with the court for mercy and said he felt “very bad” over what he had done and promised never to repeat it again. He offered to pay a fine of N$200. Prosecutor Alexander Gairiseb told the court that while Araeb showed remorse the interests of society, which works hard to try and make a living needs to be protected from the accused and other would be offenders.
He said that the court should send out a deterrent message and proposed a fine of N$500 or three months jail. During sentencing Jaggere said that while the accused pleaded guilty and did not waste the court’s time, the offence of shoplifting has become a ‘plague’, especially in the district of Windhoek. “On a daily basis this court receives new cases of theft in the form of shoplifting and this is a plague that causes hardship on shop owners especially,” she said. According to her “the accused stole out of greed and not need and seems to have quite a sweet tooth as none of the chocolates were recovered.” She further said the courts have a duty to ensure the plague of shoplifting is eradicated and as such it should impose appropriate and deterrent sentences that will not only stop the accused from committing a similar offence, but also those considering to commit this common crime. She sentenced Araeb to pay a fine of N$500 or in default three months in jail.
By Roland Routh