A man aged 19 has been sentenced to 11 years in prison on defilement and abduction charges after he took a girl aged 13 to his house and lived with her claiming she was his wife.
The Kasungu First Grade Magistrate Court has convicted the man identified as Maulana Mwamadi.
According to Public Relations Officer for Kasungu Police Station Harry Namwaza, Sub Inspector Thoko Juziwel told the court that Mwamadi committed the offence in September when he started living with the girl saying she was his wife.
Namwaza said earlier in September, 2019, the girl went missing which prompted her mother to report the matter to police.
As the enquiries were in progress, the mother was tipped by a well-wisher that her daughter was living with Mwamadi at Chitete location. She also reported the matter to police who arrested Mwamadi.
Mwamadi was charged with defilement contrary to section 138(1) and abduction of a girl under the age of 16 contrary to section 136 as read with section 34 of the penal code.
“In court, he pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against him but the state paraded 5 witnesses who proved the cases against him beyond any reasonable doubt. He was convicted as charged,” said Namwaza.
In mitigation, Mwamadi said he was a first offender and that the court should consider this and hand him a lenient sentence.
However, Juziwel reminded the court that the charges Mwamadi was answering are felonious in nature.
Juziwel further told the court that, looking at the age of the girl, Mwamadi ought to have behaved responsibly towards her and not raping her as it was the case.
First Grade Magistrate Damiano Banda then then slapped him with a 11 year sentence and 15 month jail term on the two counts respectively which will run concurrently.
Maulana Mwamadi comes from Chimbuna village, Traditional Authority Kaomba in Kasungu district.
