The Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court in Balaka has convicted and sentenced a 43-year-old man, Jonas Buleya, to 18 years imprisonment with hard labour after he pleaded guilty to a charge of having sexual intercourse with a child contrary to Section 138 of the Penal Code.
The court through state prosecutor Superintendent Bodwin Msukwa heard that the convict, Jonas Buleya, committed the offence on May 14, 2024, at Nkaluluka Village in Balaka District, where he had unlawful sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl.
The court further heard that the convict committed the offence when the girl’s mother was out for other errands and he took advantage of the situation and went into the girl’s house where he had unlawful sexual intercourse with her. The convict noted that the girl’s mother was away.
The convict later threatened the girl not to reveal the ordeal to anyone and if she dared to report, she would be killed but the girl reported the matter to her sister as well as to her mother on the following day.
Appearing before the court, the convict pleaded not guilty to a charge of having sexual intercourse with a child. This prompted the state to parade five witnesses who proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and he was later convicted accordingly.
In mitigation, the convict asked the court for leniency, saying he has family obligations and that he also looks after orphans.
However, in his submission, state prosecutor Superintendent Bodwin Msukwa pleaded with the court for a stiff punishment, citing that the offence committed was serious and that he planned to commit the offence as he was supervising the movement of the victim’s parents and relations.
Presiding over the case, Senior Resident Magistrate Joshua Nkhono quashed the mitigation factors and sentenced the convict to 18 years imprisonment with hard labour as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.
The convict, Jonas Buleya, comes from
Nkaluluka Village in Traditional Authority Nsamala in Balaka District.
