A Magistrate court in Dowa has sent to jail a 22-year-old man for five years for arson after he set ablaze the house of his in-laws.

State Prosecutor Christopher Dulani, told the court that Nzeru Kalulu from Chikhutu village, TA M’bang’ombe in Lilongwe , on December 14,  willfully and unlawfully torched his in-laws house and property valued at K300,000 was damaged at Chakanga Village in Dowa.

Dulani further told the court that owner of the torched house, Friday Frezer  picked a quarrel with his wife and this angered Kalulu who later set the house ablaze.

Kalulu pleaded not guilty to the charges  and the state paraded four witnesses.

First Grade magistrate Amran Phiri is of the view that the five year jail term is stiff enough to deter other would-be offenders.