The Kasungu First Grade Magistrate Court has sentenced a 40 year old man to 5 years in jail for assaulting his 11 year old stepson using a burning wood.
According to Kasungu police public relations office, Edna Mzingwitsa, the convict has been identified as Madalitso Phiri who committed the crime on March 4, 2018 at Kasakula village in the district.
The convict, a father of three, married the mother of the victim who also has her own three children.
But the man was not happy with the presence of his stepchildren and most of the times he was ill-treating them.
Prosecutor Inspector Griffin Luhanga said on the day of the assault, Phiri told the victim and his siblings to work on 15 ridges.
However, due to the nature of the work, the victim and his siblings failed to complete the work and this did not go well with Phiri who tied the legs and hands of the victim and started whipping him with a burning wood.
The development did not please community members who apprehended Phiri and took him to police.
In court, Phiri pleaded not guilty to the charge of grievous harm but the state paraded 4 witnesses who proved the case against Phiri beyond reasonable doubt.
In mitigation, Phiri pleaded with the court to consider giving him a noncustodial sentence due to the responsibility he has of taking care of six children.
The state objected to Phiri’s call for leniency and Luhanga requested the court to give Phiri a custodial stiff sentence.
The prosecutor told the court that by marrying the mother of the victim it meant Phiri agreed to take responsibility of taking care of his stepchildren and that ill-treating them to the extent of causing grievous harm on them was cruelty.
Kasungu First Grade Magistrate Damiano Banda told Phiri that being a stepfather of the children he was supposed to protect them not harm them. Banda then sentenced Phiri to five years in prison.
Madalitso Phiri comes from Sabwelera village, Traditional Authority Kawamba in Kasungu district.
Evil man.