LOTHAIR – Ermelo Magistrate’s Court handed a hefty sentence down to Joseph Bhutiza Masina on July 20.
He was charged with housebreaking, theft, and the possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
According to Const Bathobile Khumalo, the spokesman for the Lothair police, Masina broke into a 72-year-old woman’s house between September and October 2018, and stole her late husband’s firearms and ammunition.
These were recovered from various places, including from Masina’s residence.
The Ermelo Magistrate’s Court sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment on the charge of housebreaking, 12 months’ imprisonment on the charge of possession of unlicensed firearms, and six months’ imprisonment on the charge of possession of ammunition.
The sentences will run concurrently.
Masina was also declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of the Firearms Control Act.
Capt Vusi Mahlangu, the station commander of the Lothair police, applauded the investigator of the case, Det Sgt Mfanafuthi Mbokane, for gathering the evidence against Masina.
