A 40 year old man has been slapped with a 14-year-jail term for raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter in Thyolo district.
According to Deputy Publicist for Limbe Police Station Widson Nhlane, the convict has been identified as Elson Mangani Chinangwa. 
Nhlane said George Kachapila told the Midima court that the convict committed the offence during the evening of May 28, 2018 at his home.
He said this happened when the mother to the victim was not yet back from her workplace and he took this as an advantage. He called the girl into his bedroom where he demanded sex from her but she denied.
The man then forced the victim down and raped her. As he was in the process of doing that, the mother arrived and caught him red-handed.
However, despite that the girl was severely injured, the couple opted to keep the matter under wrap as one way of securing the marriage but on August 28, the condition worsened and neighbours noticed that the 11-year-old victim had walking difficulties as she was just crying.
This prompted them to question her and she revealed everything before the matter was reported to Bvumbwe Police.
When he appeared in court, Chinangwa pleaded guilty and asked the presiding senior resident magistrate Hussein Ibrahim to be lenient when passing judgement because he is the breadwinner and his dependants will suffer when given a custodial sentence.
But this did not please prosecutor George Kachapila who prayed for a stiffer penalty saying the victim was traumatised due to the acts of the suspect and the girl suffered a permanent disfigurement hence chances of cervical cancer and fistula are high.
Kachapila further said the convict being a father should have been the first to protect the victim.
The Magistrate concurred with the state prosecutor hence sentencing the convict to serve a jail term of 14 years with hard labour.
Elson Mangani Chinangwa hails from Samuti village in Traditional Authority Chimaliro in Thyolo.
