WINDHOEK – Two men who worked as ‘car guards’ in Windhoek were sentenced to a straight jail term for housebreaking with intent to steal and theft.
The suspects Mukoya Hausiku (23) and Eugene Hosea (24) pleaded guilty to the charges before Magistrate Justine Asino in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. They broke into a warehouse at Maerua Super Spar on Thursday last week and stole 10 x 5 litres of cooking oil and 8 x 5 litres of Fruitree juice valued at N$900. According to the testimony of both accused they severed the wire holding the door to the warehouse and loosened the wires until they reached a small door through which they squeezed into the building. They said the cooking oil and fruit juice were stacked on the floor of the warehouse and they proceeded to help themselves. On their way to take a taxi the police stopped them and arrested them.
They said they intended to steal the items in order to sell them to raise money for rent. In mitigation Hausiku said he is single with no children and works as a ‘car guard’ at Maerua Super Spar where he earns N$400 to N$500 per month. He told the court that he is sorry for his actions. Hosea informed Magistrate Asino that he is a single father of two children aged 3 years and 3 months respectively. The children live in Rundu, the last-born with his mother while the child’s mother attends school. He said he is the sole breadwinner in his family and also asked the court for forgiveness. Prosecutor Samantha Diergaardt argued both the accused indicated to the court that they were gainfully employed as car guards, a position similar to that of a security guard, since they protect people’s properties. She said resorting to crime is not a justification for one’s circumstances. According to Diergaardt the right to own property is guaranteed in the constitution and actions such as theirs will result in people taking the law into their own hands.
She said the accused were familiar with the set-up at the shop and committed the crime after careful planning. According to Diergaardt the only reason the accused pleaded guilty was because they were caught red-handed. She proposed a direct jail term of 30 months. According to Magistrate Asino, while the accused were not employed by Spar as car guards, they knew of the need to protect people’s properties, but opted to break into Spar during the night. She said there is an outcry from the public regarding similar offences and there is a need to protect society against these types of offences, to make people feel safe and properties protected. Both the accused are first offenders and the items were recovered. She sentenced both to 20 months direct imprisonment.
By Roland Routh