A 37-year-old choirmaster for the African Church, Jonas Herbert, is in police custody at Lingadzi in Lilongwe for raping a choir member, aged 14 during a choir trip.
It is reported that the suspect and other choir members on Friday, March 16, 2024, undertook a choir trip to Njewa within their area.
Lingadzi Police Station Publicist, Sergeant Cassim Manda, has told Malawi24 that upon arrival, the hosting choir prepared two separate rooms for female and male choir members to rest in.
It is further alleged that all male choir members stayed in their room except Herbert, who chose to remain in the room assigned to the females. Having been suspicious of the choir master’s conduct, the victim and her two friends failed to sleep.
When they started dozing, the victim, who was too close to the suspect, ordered him to vacate the room so that they could sleep, but the suspect did not comply.
Later, the suspect started caressing the victim while her two friends were watching. The suspect then forcefully penetrated his manhood on the minor’s private parts
The next morning, the child and his two friends reported the matter to church elders and later to the police, who swiftly arrested the suspect.
Herbert, who will be taken to court soon to answer the case of defilement, hails from Nathenje village in the area of Traditional Authority Mazengera in Lilongwe district.
