On Friday, the Senior Resident Magistrate Court in Balaka delivered a ruling in a case involving the intentional wounding of a minor, Mercy Magombo.
Defendants Lilian Matako and Ishmael Chitete pleaded guilty to the charge. Initially sentenced to 12 months of hard labor, their sentence was later reduced to a suspended sentence requiring 480 hours of community service.
In delivering the judgment, Senior Resident Magistrate Joshua Nkhono considered the defendants’ personal circumstances and their guilty plea.
Notably, Matako is the biological mother of the victim.
