Ntcheu First Grade Magistrate’s Court Wednesday sentenced Constable Raphael Banda and his two accomplices, Chipiliro Wanderford and Zacharia Wyson, to eight years imprisonment with hard labour for attempted robbery.
Ntcheu Police spokesperson Hastings Chigalu said members of the community caught the three as they attempted to break into a shop at Ntonda Trading Centre in the wee hours of March 8.
The angry mob intended to burn them alive, but the police arrived in the nick of time to whisk them away to safety.
Chigalu said the convicts pleaded not guilty to the charge but the state paraded three witnesses to secure the conviction.
He added that, in mitigation, Banda and his accomplices pleaded with the court for leniency, saying they have huge responsibilities in their families.
“First Grade Magistrate Crispin Sachulika, however, observed that being a police officer, Banda has tarnished the image of the entire Malawi Police Service. He also observed that by committing the crime in police uniforms, the convicts thoroughly planned it,” he said.
Banda, 36, comes from Mkalawile Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Sitola in Machinga while Wanderford, 25, hails from M’bweza Village in T/A Phambala and Wyson, 24, from Ben Chinseu Village in T/A Kwataine, both in Ntcheu.
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