A DARING 24-year-old Chitungwiza man, who was in the habit of ransacking church buildings stealing various musical instruments valued at $8 650, has been slapped with a 10-year-jail sentence.
VIMBAI MARUFU OWN CORRESPONDENT
Tinashe Tafireyi, who is of no fixed abode, was yesterday sentenced on two counts of unlawful entry and two counts of theft when he appeared before Chitungwiza magistrate Musaiona Shotgame.
The court, however, set aside 18 months of his sentence on condition that he restitutes the complainants and added another four months from a previous conviction, leaving him to serve an effective jail term of eight years and 10 months.
Prosecutor Wilson Matsika told the court that sometime in November last year, Tafireyi and his unnamed accomplice, who is still at large, stole a six-metre blue tent from Apostolic Faith Mission Church in Unit M, Seke, which was worth about $150, which was recovered.
On March 14 this year, Tafireyi and his accomplice again broke into an Ablaze Church building in Unit D, Seke, and stole a Roland keyboard, two speakers, eight channel-powered mixers, six microphones and 10-metre cable all worth $4 350. Property worth $2 350 was later recovered.
The court also heard that on May 28 this year at around 0400hrs in Mhundwa village, Seke, the pair climbed up Charles Masotcha’s house roof and stole a solar panel worth $150 and vanished into the night with the latter in hot pursuit.
Masotcha then gave up the chase and reported the matter to the police.
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On July 21 this year, the pair stormed into Goodseed Church in Unit D, and stole a generator, cables, eight speakers and an amplifier all worth $2 000. Police only recovered property worth $900.
On August 16 2014, police detectives received a tip-off about Tafireyi’s hideout, leading to his arrest.
