Court jails man 18 years for rape

Limbe Magistrate’s Court has sentenced Happy James to 18 years imprisonment for rape.

State prosecutor Lloyd Magweje told the court that on January 31 2024, the man went out with his best friend to watch a football match on television in a township within Blantyre.

He said James sneaked out of the video showroom and went to his friend’s house and joined the victim in bed where he had sexual intercourse with her under the disguise of being her husband.

Magweje also said the victim, after realising that the man was not her husband, immediately confronted him.

He said: “James claimed to the victim that he and her husband had agreed to swap wives for the night. He further stated that his own wife was also having sex with her husband at his home.

“After failing to provide proof, the man violently bolted from the scene and this prompted the victim to report the matter to her parents, who subsequently reported the matter to Limbe Police. She was then referred to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital for medical examination where the results confirmed she had been raped.”

In court, James pleaded not guilty, but the State paraded four witnesses who proved the case against him.

In mitigation, the convict prayed for leniency, saying he was a breadwinner for his family and a first offender.

But in his submission, Magweje pleaded with the court to give James a stiffer punishment, noting that the offence was serious and poses a possibility of causing emotional damage to the victim.

In his ruling, senior resident magistrate Ackia Mwanyongo agreed with the State and handed James a custodial sentence.