Cameroonian jailed for stealing K62, 000 from Zambian girlfriend…as court warns foreigners against breeding crime
Written by Millennium on April 22, 2019
CHARLES MUSONDA writes
@SunZambian
A CAMEROONIAN national has been sentenced to five years imprisonment with hard labour for stealing his Zambian girlfriend’s K62, 000 meant for purchase of her motor vehicle.
And Lusaka Magistrate Nsunge Chanda says it is sad that Zambia’s laws are so flexible that foreigners have found fertile ground to breed crime.
Before Ms. Chanda on Thursday was Michael Kayu who stole the money belonging to Beauty Tembo, a Lusaka businesswoman.
Ms. Tembo told the court that she met Kayu on social media and when he came to Zambia, he told her that he was a Congolese businessman selling chickens in Lubumbashi.
She said he started visiting and sleeping over at her home and he knew where she put her money until one day when she told him that she wanted to buy another motor vehicle.
Later, Kayu told Ms. Tembo that he had found a car to buy and on November 21, 2018, she withdrew K40, 000 from the bank and added it to K22, 000 from that day’s sales in her liquor wholesale business.
She said when she reached home, she counted the money with her daughter and wrapped it in a plastic; and put it under her bed.
Ms. Tembo then phoned Kayu and invited him to her home and when he reached, he went straight to her bedroom to put his bag.
Afterwards, he went to the sitting room and asked for a drink, before telling her that he wanted a meal with fish.
Ms. Tembo then removed the fish from the fridge and sent her daughter to buy a bulb, after which she went to bath.
As she was bathing, Kayu told her that he had received a call from his business partner and asked for her car but she refused to release it.
After she finished bathing, she gave him a lift up to the bus stop and gave him transport money. He promised to come back but after she cooked the food, Kayu never returned and stopped picking her phone calls.
When she checked on the money, she found that it had disappeared and realised Kayu had stolen it.
His phone went off and he blocked her on WhatsApp. He was only traced after Ms. Tembo engaged a private investigator.
In his defence, Kayu admitted that Ms. Tembo only gave him K22, 000 to buy chemicals for making black dollars and that he got the money to teach her a lesson because he did not want to be involved in illegal business.
Passing judgment, Magistrate Chanda said it is unfortunate that when foreigners come, Zambian women fall for them and disclose all their business secrets without realising that aliens are here to make money.
“You should look at the roots, a temporary relationship always breaks and don’t trust somebody. Some women have even lost their lives at the hands of foreigners. He said he was Congolese but he came from West Africa and from this demeanour he came to commit crime.
“It saddens me that our laws are very flexible such that foreigners are freely committing crime. When you are in Zambia you must live within the confines of the law and if you choose to break the law, I will show you the consequences.
“Most foreigners have found fertile ground to breed crime. If you appear before me, you have to feel the wrath of the law. I therefore sentence you to five years imprisonment with hard labour with effect from today,” Ms. Chanda said.
