A 19-year-old man from Tshabalala suburb in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, is facing possible jail time after allegedly stealing two vehicles on separate occasions in attempts to visit his girlfriend, with both incidents ending in crashes.Jurio Junior Nyathi appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Lungile Ncube on two counts of motor vehicle theft and two counts of driving without a valid licence. He pleaded guilty to all the charges. Sentencing was postponed to today.The court heard that on January 18, Nyathi allegedly stole a light blue Honda Fit belonging to teacher Moses Mataruse. The vehicle had been parked and locked inside a church yard in Tshabalala while the owner attended a service.Prosecutor Sehliselo Khumalo told the court that Nyathi used an unknown object to gain access to the vehicle before driving away unnoticed. He reportedly headed toward his girlfriends residence but was involved in an accident along the way. The damaged vehicle, valued at US$4,000, was later abandoned by the roadside.In a similar incident last Sunday shortly after 8AM, Nyathi allegedly returned to the same church premises and stole another Honda Fit, this time belonging to prison officer Khumbuzile Nyoni. He reportedly drove toward Gwabalanda suburb to see his girlfriend but again lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road and crashed into a tree. He allegedly fled the scene.In mitigation, Nyathi told the court he had intended to surprise his girlfriend with a birthday gift and had taken the vehicles to transport the present. I wanted to surprise her on her special day. Unfortunately, I was involved in accidents on both occasions. I now realise what I did was wrong and ask the court for forgiveness, he said.Police investigations later led to his arrest, after which he confessed to stealing and crashing both vehicles. The State argued that the offences were premeditated, with the prosecutor stating that Nyathi used calculated methods to unlock and start the vehicles without detection. The victims, the court heard, suffered significant losses as a result of the accidents.Describing him as a youthful offender who had started at the deep end, the prosecutor urged the court to impose a custodial sentence, arguing that imprisonment would provide an opportunity for reform.The post Man facing jail time after stealing two cars to visit girlfriend appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.
