A ZAMBIAN man, who entered Zimbabwe illegally, has been slapped with a five-year jail term for robbing two children.
Mutaba Lambert Kunda (28) was dragged to the Mutare Magistrates Court on two counts of robbery.
The court convicted and sentenced him to five years in jail, of which 22 months were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.
Kunda was also convicted of contravening the Immigration Act and ordered to pay a fine of US$30 or 15 days imprisonment.
The court heard that on June 8 this year in Palmerstone, Mutare, Kunda found an 11-year-old child watering the garden outside the yard and asked the complainant about the whereabouts of his parents.
After discovering that the parents were not at home, he scaled a wall and gained entry into the yard.
He then produced a knife and force-marched the child into the house where he stole a laptop, a laptop bag and a tablet from a bedroom.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe, he also demanded a Samsung Galaxy A13 cellphone, an Ethernet adaptor and two power packs from another 11-year-old child who was in the house at the time.
Kunda was arrested on June 13.
The stolen goods are valued at US$2 200 and property worth US$2 000 was recovered.