Dowa Police have, today, arrested a 32-year-old refugee for allegedly having sex with a 9-year-old minor in the Dzaleka Refugee camp in the Dowa district.
He is identified as Prince Matenga from South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
The incident occurred on December 31st, 2024, during the evening time in Dzaleka Hills within the Dzaleka refugee camp.
According to Dowa Police PRO Alice Sitima, the victim, a fellow Congolese national, reported to the Dzaleka police unit that she had been sexually abused by Prince Matenga of Dzaleka Hills location in the camp.
Sitima further noted that the victim, who is aged 9, said that on the material date during evening hours, she and the suspect met at the Dzaleka trading centre and started chatting as they have been doing for the past two years. In the course of chatting, they went to a certain house within the camp in Dzaleka Hills.
“Once they entered the house the suspect closed the door and stood by it to prevent the victim from going out, and then the suspect forced the victim into having unprotected sex and took her to a sleeping room, then managed to have sex with her and warned her not to tell anyone about it or else she would be killed.
“After five days passed, her relative noticed some blood stains in her room and questioned her over it and later she revealed that she had sexual intercourse with the suspect,” explained Sitima.
According to Sitima, the matter was reported at the Dzaleka police unit, of which the victim was issued with a medical report, which established a vaginal penetration to be positive and also some sexually transmitted infection presence according to Dzaleka Health Centre.
“The police instituted investigations into the matter and managed to apprehend the suspect after intelligence collection of the whereabouts,” she added.
Meanwhile, the suspect is in custody and shall appear before the court soon.
