It never rains but pours! A habitual bicycle thief, who two weeks ago was sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing mountain bikes in the western suburbs of Bulawayo, found out.
Last Friday, Shepherd Banda (20) was back in court over a related crime and was slapped with another 14 years in jail.
The combined value of the stolen bicycles is about $800.
In the first case, Banda was convicted on his own plea of guilty to four counts of theft of bicycles when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Victor Mpofu. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Three years of his sentence were conditionally suspended for five years.
On Friday, he appeared again before the same magistrate facing seven counts.
Banda was sentenced to 14 years in prison with none suspended. He will serve an effective 21-year jail term.
In mitigation, Banda asked the court to be lenient with him as he was sole breadwinner looking after his diabetic grandmother and his minor child.
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However, the magistrate said Banda was an unrepentant offender who deserved a harsh custodial sentence.
Trust Muduma, prosecuting, told the court that between September 18 and November 2, Banda went on a rampage stealing mountain bikes in the city’s high-density suburbs.
However, on November 2, police detectives from the cycle section received a tip-off about Banda’s theft escapades, leading to his arrest and recovery of some of the bicycles.
