Brian James was released from prison under Zimbabwe’s Presidential Amnesty last Friday. You’d think he’d lay low and stay out of trouble, right? Wrong! Barely two days later, he was back in police custody for a truly audacious crime.
After attending church on Sunday, Amanda Nkobwe returned to find her Borrowdale cottage had been ransacked. Two blankets, two cellphones, and an inverter were stolen – items worth $230 in total.
Police soon arrested Brian James, who confessed to the crime. Get this – he had broken in after Nkobwe left her house keys on the roof, a place she normally leaves them for her housemates! Undeterred by his recent release, James helped himself to Nkobwe’s property as soon as he spotted the keys.
James pleaded guilty in court yesterday and Magistrate Ethel Rutendo Chichera will hand down her sentence today, taking into account his previous convictions. As for James, it seems some thieves can never truly escape their criminal tendencies – even after being freed by presidential pardon.
