IN
THE HIGH COURT OF MALAWI

LILONGWE
REGISTRY

CRIMINAL
APPEAL NO 63 OF 2005

BETWEEN

GIFT
MATEWERE …………………………….APPELLANT

-and-

THE
REPUBLIC …………………………….. RESPONDENT

CORAM HON.
JUSTICE A.K.C. NYIRENDA

Appellant,
present, unrepresented

State;
Absent

Mlenga;
Court Interpreter

Jalasi;
Court Interpreter

J
U D G M E N T

HON.
NYIRENDA, J.

Gift
Matewere appeals to this court against both his conviction and
sentence on a charge or robbery with others contrary to section
301
of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment with
hard labour.

I
hasten to say the appeal against conviction is without merit. The
appellant pleaded guilty to the charge which was well explained
to
him with all the elements of the offence put to him. The
appellant’s admission was unequivocal. I therefore dismiss the

appeal against conviction.

The
appellant pleaded guilty to the charge. He is a first offender. He
is still a very young man at the age of 23. The court
has received a
letter from the Headmaster of the School where the appellant was
enrolled as a form 4 student. It is not clear
why the lower court
was not told that the appellant was a student in mitigation before he
was sentenced. I also observe that
the name that the appellant
mentions to this court as his Headmaster is different from that of
the person who wrote the letter
to this court, a Mr J.K. Banda. The
appellant further struck me as not having real and specific details
about his school. In
short I am skeptical about the appellant being
a pupil or student at the school that he mentions.

The
facts of the case are not too good for the appellant. In the company
of others the appellant attacked the complainant as he
was walking to
a shop near his house. They assualted him heavily and searched him
and took away some money from him.

Before
this court the appellant appeared apologetic and remorseful though.
As mentioned earlier the appellant is a first offender
who pleaded
guilty. On the premise of all the considerations above I reduce the
sentence against the appellant to three years
imprisonment with hard
labour.

MADE
in Open Court at Lilongwe this 17^th
day of February, 2006.

A.K.C.
Nyirenda

J
U D G E