Lady Memory Mutsika, a Zimbabwean woman, was sentenced to 3 years in direct imprisonment by the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in South Africa on Wednesday, November 9.
Mutsika, 43, was a church treasurer at the Seventh-Day Adventist church in Pretoria City. Her duties included transferring tithe and offering money deposited in the church account to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church's Northern Conference.
Mutsika transferred over R800,000 in tithe and offering money to her bank account and for her personal use over a four-year period, from 2012 to 2015.
In court, she pleaded guilty to the charges and requested a non-custodial sentence to repay the church over a five-year period.
The state, on the other hand, claimed that Mutsika always expressed a willingness to repay the money and has not paid back a single cent since her conviction in March 2022.
Mutsika showed no remorse, according to the magistrate, who agreed with the state. He stated that she stopped stealing not out of conscience, but because she was caught. The church placed her in a position of trust, which she betrayed.
He went on to say that he considered Mutsika's willingness to repay the money as a bargaining chip and a ticket to keep her out of prison. As a result, a prison sentence was appropriate, and criminal behavior has consequences.
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