Katima bank teller jailed for theft

A KATIMA Mulilo bank teller who admitted that he had stolen N$100 000 from his employer has been sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for his crime.

Morris Susiku Matengu (31) was sentenced by Magistrate Bongani Ndlovu in the Katima Mulilo Regional Court on Friday last week. He received an eight-year prison term, of which one year was suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of having committed a similar offence in that time.Another year was suspended on condition that he repays the stolen N$100 000 to Bank Windhoek before the end of 2007.Matengu was arrested about a week after it was noticed at the bank that N$100 000 was missing from the money that had been under his control as a teller.Matengu was not at work on the day when the disappearance of the money was discovered, which was September 5 last year.He had last worked at the bank, where he was employed as a teller, three days before that.Having vanished when the money was found to be missing, Matengu was arrested about a week later.On September 26, he pleaded guilty to a charge of theft in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate’s Court.His case was thereafter transferred to the Regional Court for sentencing, and was finalised on Friday.When he pleaded, Matengu admitted that he had taken the money, and explained: “I wanted to use the money as my own to start my own business.”What the court was not told, but Matengu is claimed to have stated to someone after his arrest, was that he had allegedly been the victim of one of the oldest con tricks in the book – one in which he was duped by someone who promised to be able to multiply amounts of money through a hidden magical process.Matengu is claimed to have duly handed over the N$100 000 to the trickster, only to see the con man stage a disappearing act with the money.Matengu initially informed the Regional Court that he wanted to get legal aid to assist him with the sentencing.But last week he informed Magistrate Ndlovu that he wished to get his sentencing over with, as he did not want to wait any longer to give the Directorate of Legal Aid time to provide him with a lawyer.Public Prosecutor Pieter Smit represented the State in the Regional Court proceedings.He received an eight-year prison term, of which one year was suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of having committed a similar offence in that time.Another year was suspended on condition that he repays the stolen N$100 000 to Bank Windhoek before the end of 2007.Matengu was arrested about a week after it was noticed at the bank that N$100 000 was missing from the money that had been under his control as a teller.Matengu was not at work on the day when the disappearance of the money was discovered, which was September 5 last year.He had last worked at the bank, where he was employed as a teller, three days before that.Having vanished when the money was found to be missing, Matengu was arrested about a week later.On September 26, he pleaded guilty to a charge of theft in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate’s Court.His case was thereafter transferred to the Regional Court for sentencing, and was finalised on Friday.When he pleaded, Matengu admitted that he had taken the money, and explained: “I wanted to use the money as my own to start my own business.”What the court was not told, but Matengu is claimed to have stated to someone after his arrest, was that he had allegedly been the victim of one of the oldest con tricks in the book – one in which he was duped by someone who promised to be able to multiply amounts of money through a hidden magical process.Matengu is claimed to have duly handed over the N$100 000 to the trickster, only to see the con man stage a disappearing act with the money.Matengu initially informed the Regional Court that he wanted to get legal aid to assist him with the sentencing.But last week he informed Magistrate Ndlovu that he wished to get his sentencing over with, as he did not want to wait any longer to give the Directorate of Legal Aid time to provide him with a lawyer.Public Prosecutor Pieter Smit represented the State in the Regional Court proceedings.