A police officer has been sentenced to 21 years in jail for raping 14-year-old girl in a police cell.
Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate Shyreen Yona Chirwa handed out the sentence to the police officer this week.
The officer identified as Benjamin Kayembe raped the child in a police cell at Chisepo Police Post in October 2018.
The child was arrested for a fight at school. At night while she was in custody, Kayembe who was on duty raped her.
After the rape, the police claimed that the teen was raped by another suspect at the police unit but the girl insisted that it was the police officer.
State prosecutor Eunice Ndingo from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has since welcomed the sentenced handed out to the police officer.
In a related development, the Senior Resident Magistrate Court in Ntcheu has sentenced two men to 21 years in prison each for raping children.
One of the convicts, James Hadson aged 24 raped a six-year-old child in October last year.
State prosecutor Samie Liwonde told the court that Hadson was working as a servant for the child’s parents and he raped the child when she went to Livulezi River to take a bath.
The other convict Mateyu Simon aged 44 raped his 15-year-old step daughter on several occasions and also threatened to kill.
