The Mangochi Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court on Thursday sentenced a 25-year-old man to 10 years in prison for raping a sex worker.
Mangochi police spokesperson Sub Inspector Amina Tepani Daudi has identified the convict as Mahmoud Likwanya.
Daudi said the woman aged 29 was raped on the morning of February 1, 2020 at a resthouse within Makanjira where she operates.
According to Daudi, the woman came out of her room to remove clothes from the line and the convict emerged within the compound, grabbed her on the neck and dragged her to the toilet premises where he raped her.
He threatened to kill her if she shouted for help.
The victim managed to escape when Likwanya was getting dressed in order to drag her to her room where he wanted to rape her again.
“The matter was later reported at Makanjira Police post where medical report was issued and the results from Makanjira Health Centre confirmed she was raped,” Daudi said.
Likwanya was apprehended by the Police the same day in the afternoon at Mpiripiri Trading Centre.
Appearing in court, Likwanya pleaded not guilty to the charge and the state paraded four witnesses who proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
When passing judgement, Senior Resident Magistrate Joshua Nkhono said such cases are on the increase in the district as women and young girls are being molested which put their lives at risk.
He therefore handed him a 10-year custodial sentence to deter would be offenders.
Mahmoud Likwanya hails from village Makanjira traditional authority Makanjira in Mangochi.
