ARMED PRISON ESCAPEE JAILED 22 YEARS
The inmate, who escaped from lawful custody at Harare magistrate court with a gun last month, was yesterday sentenced to 22 years imprisonment.
Luke Zinyengere was convicted after a full trial by regional magistrate Letwin Rwodzi, who stressed that jailbreak is not kid’s play and should be taken with the seriousness it deserves.
Zinyengere escaped from custody last month with his accomplice Tafadzwa Marondera, who was sentenced to 10 years in jail by magistrate Fadzai Mthombeni.
Zinyengere has an additional charge of armed robbery where he hijacked a car to aid his escape.
In handing down the sentence for the two offences, Rwodzi said this was a well-planned escape which was executed well.
For escaping from jail Zinyengere, was sentenced to 10 years and for armed robbery, he was jailed 12 years.
“The crime was committed in a well-planned and sophisticated manner. The circumstances of the two offences carry a maximum sentence. The only mitigating factor is the accused is a family man and is a first-time offender, but he started on a deep end.
“The plan was executed in a movie style, and it traumatised a lot of people including court officials.
“He also traumatised the innocent, the general public who were doing their business and the owner of the car whom he robbed.
“The original crime that he is facing should be considered and in this case, there are several cases of armed robbery.
“I will settle for the highest penalty. Escaping from lawful custody shows that you cannot be rehabilitated in the near future. Society must be protected, and jailbreak is not a kid’s game,” she ruled.
Before the sentence, Zinyengere pleaded with the court to give him a lesser sentence since he is a first-time offender and is also a sole breadwinner.
Quizzed why he escaped from jail, he said he wanted to go to Mozambique to check on his cell phone business.
“I wanted to go and check on my business in Mozambique because I had delivered some phones and as of now, I’m not sure how it is going. For stealing the vehicle, it was my means of transportation to escape from lawful custody.
“I’m very sorry my family is struggling, they have no food and my siblings whom I was taking care of are also struggling because I was the sole breadwinner, I apologise to Tinashe Chiyamuro for robbing him of his motor vehicle,” he pleaded with the court.
The state represented by Loveit Muringwa. *_-H-Metro_*
