The four, Stephano Beston, 27, Marko Eliyasi, 35, Saidi Muhame, 41, and Thomas Albert, 27, committed the arson after accusing the police of having a hand in the death of a man who died in police custody.

In court, state prosecutor Sub-Inspector, Steven Mpira, prayed for a deterrent punishment considering that government is losing a lot of money to renovate the offices and that the action disturbed the course of justice as some of the case files were burnt in the inferno.

They were charged with arson, an offence that contravenes Section 337(a) of the Penal Code.

Their mitigation of being breadwinners did not move magistrate Masonga who ordered them to spend the next seven years in jail.

After the incident, the police station was closed and later reopened following the partial renovations.