Mzwinila brothers get 15 years

ISAIAH MOREWAGAE
Staff Writer | Friday November 26, 2010 00:00

 

The magistrate said Edward and his elder brother, Michael showed no remorse and are likely to commit the same offence.

The case has been running for the last seven years. In addition to the jail sentence, the Mzwinila brothers have been ordered to payback the P1 million stolen from the Bank of Baroda minus the P359,863. 61 recovered by the police.

The police investigator, Assistant Superintendent James Baakile told the court that they recovered P78,410 from Edward and P200,053.61 from Michael. Another P58,600 was retrieved from Thato Orufeng and P22,800 from Olekantse Matebu.

Moroka said Botswana is a country trying to attract foreign investment and should be protected from people like the Mzwinila brothers who give a bad image to potential investors. He  stressed that courts in Botswana should send a stern warning to would be robbers to create a safe and conducive environment to everyone. 

Before Moroka delivered his ruling, Michael had pleaded with the magistrate not to impose custodial sentence because of ill-health. He  told the court that he was on special diet and feared that if incarcerated, his health might deteriorate. He pleaded with the court to consider that he was the first born in his family and his brothers were looking up to him for financial, spiritual and physical support. 

He said that as a first offender, he deserved another chance to repent. His younger brother, Edward pleaded with the magistrate not to impose a custodial sentence because he had four children, who are dependent on him.

Edward said his hopes to enroll for a computer studies course with NIIT will be dashed once he is incarcerated.

'Education programmes in prisons are none existent  in this country. Even through distance learning.

As such I urge this court to give me a chance so that I can study computer studies with NIIT,' Edward said.

He submitted that at the time of the commissioning of crime, he was still a young man of 22 years, therefore naive. Edward who has previously been convicted by the High Court for armed robbery on two occasions said the magistrate should not consider those convictions as they were quashed on appeal.

He urged the court to backdate his sentence to the five years eight months he has been in remand.

However, having considered the mitigations by the brothers, Moroka refused to backdate the sentences. He added that the court is implored to give a sentence that would deter the duo from committing similar offences.