A state prosecutor for Limbe Police Station, Inspector Grace Kanjiwa told the court that Msendawana with three accomplices currently serving their sentences and others who are still at large, committed the offence on May 12, 2022.

Prosecutor Kanjiwa said the robbers, who were armed with panga knives and a pistol, attacked the dairy farmer on his way to a dairy bulking group where he wanted to pay the small-scale farmers.

However, in court Msendawana denied being in the wrong, prompting Inspector Kanjiwa to parade two witnesses who testified against him.

In mitigation, the state believed that the crime was systematically planned, while the convict prayed for leniency which Magistrate Soka found no merit, adding that his character does not deserve a space in the community.

This comes as police in the district are also hunting for unknown armed criminals who attacked two businessmen and robbed them of K4 million in separate incidents on Tuesday, one at Planters Tea Agency (PTA) Nambala 1 check point.

Aged 30, Edward Msendawana hails from Katanda village in the area of Traditional Authority Chimaliro in Thyolo.