MBABANE – A 19-year-old from Mvakwelitje has been fined E2,000 after pleading guilty to stealing a cellphone, telling the Mbabane Magistrates Court that he acted under peer pressure.
Kwanda Bandzile Mnisi appeared before Magistrate Sfiso Vilakati, where he admitted to housebreaking and theft. Mnisi said he took the phone because he wanted to fit in with his friends, who all owned cellphones. He was sentenced to pay the fine or serve two years in prison.
Court records show that the offence took place in June 2024 at Emvakwelitje in the Hhohho region. Mnisi entered a house unlawfully and stole a black Samsung Galaxy A04e worth E1,900, belonging to Siyabonga Guilamba. The phone was later found in the possession of Ntombikayise Ndwandwe.
Mnisi told the court he had gone to the house to call a friend but found the door unlocked, which tempted him to take the device.
He also faced a separate charge of malicious injury to property for allegedly damaging a window and door handles valued at E400 in Manganganeni on October 14, 2025. The court acquitted and discharged him on that count, leaving the conviction only on the theft charge.
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