Man jailed 13 years for raping cousin

A 27 year-old man Gift Clemence will spend the next 13 years in jail after being convicted for raping his 11 year-old cousin in Mchinji.

State prosecutor Humphreys Makhaliha told the Mchinji magistrate court that the convict raped the child on February 20, 2017 at Nakaleti village in the area of Traditional Authority Zulu in Mchinji.

Makhaliha said that the accused managed to sexually abuse the girl after taking advantage of the absence of his wife who had left previous day before the incident to visit her parents.

After the issue was revealed, the girl was referred to Mchinji District Hospital where medical practitioners established that she was indeed raped.

In his judgment, First Grade Magistrate Rodwell Meja Phiri convicted the accused under section 138 of the penal code after he pleaded guilty.

Before the sentence was imposed, the convict pleaded for leniency stating that he is married, has four children, and takes care of four orphans.

But Magistrate Meja denounced the evil act saying it is the duty of court to impose stiff penalties in order to reduce the trend. He then sentenced the convict to 13 years in jail.

The convict Gift Clemence hails from Nakaleti village in the area of traditional authority Zulu in Mchinji.