A 19-year-old Zambian man has been sentenced to three years imprisonment with hard labour for allegedly stealing his mother’s underwear, which he needed for a ritual.

This is a case in which Gift Chongo of Luswili Village in Chieftainess Kanyembo’s area in Nchelenge was charged with one count of theft.

The Nchelenge Magistrate’s Court heard that on October 18 this year, Chongo stole a pant worth K20 from his mother, Florence Bwalya.

When magistrate Emmanuel Mukoma asked Chongo why he stole his mother’s underwear, he responded that he wanted to use it for rituals for him to get rich.