The Balaka First Grade Magistrate’s Court has convicted and sentenced a 49-year-old man, Eliot Mchiwi, from Ndota Village, Traditional Authority Nsamala in Balaka District, to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling his four-year-old neighbour’s daughter.
The court heard that on February 6, 2026, at Kapire Village in Balaka District, Mchiwi had sexual intercourse with the young girl.
State Prosecutor Superintendent Bodwin Msukwa told the court that the victim was left at home while her mother went to sell vegetables at the market. Upon returning around 15:00 hours, the mother was informed by one of her older daughters that the four-year-old was bleeding from her private parts.
The mother examined the child and confirmed the bleeding. She alerted neighbours, who questioned the girl. The victim revealed that her neighbour, Mchiwi, had called her, had sexual intercourse with her, and warned her not to cry.
The matter was reported to the police, leading to Mchiwi’s arrest. The victim was taken to Balaka District Hospital, where medical examination confirmed penetration had occurred.
Mchiwi pleaded not guilty to the charge of having sexual intercourse with a minor, contrary to Section 138 of the Penal Code. The state paraded five witnesses, whose testimony proved the case beyond reasonable doubt, resulting in his conviction.
In passing sentence, First Grade Magistrate Augustine Mizaya agreed with the state’s call for a stiff penalty. He dismissed the accused’s mitigation that he was a breadwinner and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour, describing it as a deterrent to would-be offenders.
In a related case, the same court convicted and sentenced 46-year-old Gift Ndema, of Mpezeni Village in the same Traditional Authority, to 8 years imprisonment with hard labour for having sexual intercourse with his 16-year-old stepdaughter on three separate occasions.
