Man gets 21 years for defilement

Mchinji Magistrate’s Court has sentenced a 40-year-old man to 21 years imprisonment for defiling a one-year-old child in Mchinji.

State prosecutor Eugenio Yotamu told the court that the man committed the offence in November 2020.

He said the child’s mother, who is his neighbour, asked him to take care of the child as she went for prayers at Bunda Mountain in Lilongwe.

The man pleaded not guilty, but the State paraded witnesses to prove its case.

But in mitigation, the man asked for leniency, citing his age and that he was a first offender.

In his submission, Yotamu prayed for a stiffer sentence to deter other would-be offenders.

In his ruling, senior resident magistrate Eliya Zawanda said that cases of sexual abuse, especially defilement, require stern punishment; hence, handing such a sentence.

Defilement is contrary to Section 138 (1) of the Penal Code.