Man gets 31 years for rape, robbery

Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court has sentenced a 20-year-old man (name concealed to protect the identity of the victim) to 31 years imprisonment for rape and robbery.

State prosecutor Vincent Ntalawe told the court that the man committed the offence on October 23 2020 at a cemetery in the city.
He said the man and his friends abducted the victim from a market and took her to a cemetery where they raped and robbed her of K18 000.
Ntalawe said the victim reported the matter to Area 24 Police Unit where she received a referral letter to Kamuzu Central Hospital.
In court, the man pleaded not guilty, but the State paraded three witnesses and proved its case.
In his submission, Ntalawe prayed for a stiffer punishment, saying the woman was traumatised, adding that the convict was a threat to the public.
In mitigation, the man prayed for leniency, saying he is a breadwinner and that he is young to serve a custodial sentence.
But chief resident magistrate Patrick Chirwa agreed with the State and sentenced the convict to 17 years imprisonment for the first count of rape and 14 years for the second count of robbery. The sentences will run concurrently