E-money thief gets acidic jail term
A 26-year-old Mzuzu resident will spend almost his age in the city’s congested prison after taking his thieving tricks to literally blinding levels of cruelty.
Mzuzu chief resident magistrate Texas Masoaphambe on Friday slapped Peter Nyundo with 20 years imprisonment with hard labour for obtaining money by false pretence and causing grievous harm after pouring acid in the eyes of a woman who runs a mobile money transfer business in the city.
State prosecutor Felix Senzani told Mzuzu Magistrate Court that Airtel Money agent Mary Kuyokwa was at her kiosk near St Andrews CCAP Church when Nyundo asked her to transfer K103 800 to his phone on October 17 2016.
“When the transaction went through, Kuyokwa demanded the cash. However, she was surprised when Nyundo produced a bottle and splashed its liquid contents all over her face. She fell down and was taken to hospital where it was later discovered that the bottle contained acid,” Sergeant Senzani narrated:
Nyundo was nabbed by an angry mob.
He pleaded not guilty, but was convicted following testimonies from witnesses, including a medical practitioner from Mzuzu Central Hospital who disclosed that the acid left Kuyokwa permanently blind.
In his verdict on Friday, Masoaphambe deplored the convict’s “inhumane” conduct.
Nyundo comes from Likhalo Village in Traditional Authority Mwambo in Zomba. n
