Bar waitress sentenced to two years for stealing laptop bag
Ibanda Grade One magistrate’s court has sentenced Harriet Akello, 30, to two years in prison over theft of a laptop bag.
The mother of three was arrested in July last year on accusations of stealing a laptop bag containing a national ID card, job appointment and confirmation letters, a sweater, a work ID card, passport size photos and a Stanbic Bank money purse in Ibanda town in February 2022.
The items belonged to Margaret Tumushabe, a nursing assistant from Buhanda in Kitagwenda district.
Court presided over by Her Worship Esther Murungi heard that Akello was the sole breadwinner for her three children where she prayed for a lenient jail term so she could return home in Northern Uganda to “ensure they get the basics of life and also stay on the right path.”
Her Worship Murungi answered her prayer and handed her a two-year prison sentence, less of the time spent on remand which means that Akello will be reunited with her children after just over one year in jail.
Theft, which contravenes sections 254 (i) and 261 of the Penal Code Act, attracts up to 10 years in prison upon conviction.
