Man jailed 14 years for defilement
Kasungu Magistrate’s Court has sentenced a 36-year-old man, name concealed to protect the identity of the victim to 14 years imprisonment for defiling a girl aged 11.
State prosecutor Tiwonge Mtapula told the court that the man committed the offence on January 20 2023.
He said the victim’s mother asked the man, who is a driver, to pick the girl and drop her at her destination, but along the way, he stopped and defiled the girl.
“The victim’s mother reported the issue to police who issued them with a referral letter to Kasungu District Hospital where a medical examination confirmed she was defiled,” said Mtapula.
In court, the man pleaded not guilty, but the State paraded four witnesses to prove its case.
In his submission, Mtapula prayed for a stiffer punishment, saying such cases are rampant in Kasungu.
“The driver, who was entrusted with the responsibility to take the girl to her destination, was supposed to take good care of her,” he said.
First grade magistrate Damiano Banda agreed with the State and handed the convict a custodial sentence.
The Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare attributed the rise in defilement cases to increased reporting on the vice.
There have been several interventions including the Spotlight Initiative that empowers communities to end the culture of silence on gender-based violence, including defilement and rape.
