A man aged 42 has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping his stepdaughter and infecting her with HIV.
The convict James Mandala raped the child in 2015 and 2016. She is now aged 18.
Blantyre Central Magistrate court heard from state prosecutor Lucy Mukawa that the stepfather used to live with the child at Ndirande Township in Blantyre.
That was the time he used to rape the girl and threatened to kill her if she told her mother.
In 2016, the victim went to stay with her uncle in Lilongwe. But this year, the girl’s uncle noticed her ill health and the girl revealed that her stepfather used to sexually abuse her.
The uncle took her to Bwaila Hospital and after medical examination it was shown that the victim is HIV positive.
This led to the arrest of Mandala who was charged with defilement.
After Mandala was found guilty, Senior Resident Magistrate Akya Mwanyongo sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour.
