A 31-year-old man was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in the Grahamstown Magistrate's Court this week for stealing items worth about R3 500 from a Fingo Village church late last year.
A 31-year-old man was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in the Grahamstown Magistrate's Court this week for stealing items worth about R3 500 from a Fingo Village church late last year.
Xolani Mtsewu was arrested after the items were stolen from the United Kingdom of God Church in Orsmond Terrace in December.
In court on Monday, Mtsewu pleaded guilty to the charge and acknowledged all his previous convictions. These date back to 2010 and number four, for offences including theft and house-breaking.
When passing sentence, magistrate Dion Kotze said Mtsewu's guilty plea and the fact that he showed remorse were mitigating factors in the case, but indicated that his previous convictions were aggravating circumstances.
Mtsewu, through his lawyer, told the court that he had worked for a brick company for eight years, was married with three children aged 2, 4 and 6 and that his wife was unemployed.
He told the court he had stolen the items because he wanted to support his family. Both Kotze and the state prosecutor said they found this strange, however, because he claimed he had been working for eight years.
Mtsewu's lawyer asked for a suspended sentence.
This was opposed by the state. Kotze said house-breaking was a prevalent crime in the area and that because of Msewu's previous convictions, he did not think a suspended sentence would be proper.
He agreed with the state that the only appropriate sentence was direct imprisonment.
Mtsewu was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
