Father of six spends 21 days in prison after stealing a bunch of bananas

  After spending 21 days  on remand at Nyabuhikye Prison, Benon Mujuni, a 47-year-old father of six children begged and prayed to the Ibanda Magistrate Grade One Court not to send him back behind bars after confessing to stealing a bunch of bananas from a neighbour’s plantation.

“I have learnt my lesson… please give me a non-custodial sentence because I don’t think I can handle prison life anymore,” he begged after pleading guilty to the offence before Magistrate Esther Murungi.

Murungi subsequently convicted and later, sentenced Mujuni, a resident of Kakatsi in Bisheshe Division, Ibanda Municipality, to three days of community service.

The magistrate also ordered the convict to apologise to Tumubweine, warning that he would be arrested and imprisoned for one year if he missed a single day of his sentence.

The convict will serve six hours at the Ibanda Chief Magistrate’s Court premises on each of the three days of his community service sentence.

Mujuni had spent 21 days on remand at Nyabuhikye Prison prior to his sentencing.

He stole the bunch of bananas valued at sh20,000 from Hope Tumubweine’s plantation on January 17, according to the prosecution led by Tian Emmanuel.

However, his luck ran out after the residents mounted a house-to-house search the following day and found the bananas at his home.

He was arrested and taken to Police where he was charged accordingly.

Earlier, Mujuni told the court that he was forced to steal the bananas to feed his six children and his sick 96-year-old father.

The crime of theft carries a maximum of 10 years upon conviction.

Mujuni got a light sentence because he did not waste the court’s time, is a first-time offender, and seemed remorseful, according to the magistrate.