A Kamuzu Barracks soldier had impregnated a 15-year-old girl and pleaded for forgiveness, but the court had other plans.
Diof Simaone, 36, asked for forgiveness from the girl, her mother, the court and the nation after admitting that his actions were wrong.
Simaone admitted that his actions were wrong and pleaded for mercy, but the court handed him a 20-year prison sentence.
He had also asked the court to spare him imprisonment, arguing that being behind bars would make it difficult for him to support the girl and her baby boy.
Instead, Senior Resident Magistrate Bracious Kondowe handed him a 20-year custodial sentence, saying the punishment should serve as a warning to others, particularly in view of the responsibility Simaone held as a military officer.
The case has left behind more than a prison sentence.
According to the State, the girl became pregnant after Simaone had sexual intercourse with her four times between April and August 2025, three times at a guest house in Area 44 and once at his home.
She later gave birth to a baby boy in January this year.
The pregnancy eventually became known to her mother, a civilian cleaner at Kamuzu Barracks, after Simaone informed her and promised to support her daughter.
But when that support did not materialise, the mother reported the matter to police, setting in motion a case that would eventually lead to Simaone’s conviction.
Simaone had pleaded not guilty during trial, forcing the State to call four witnesses before the court found him guilty.
Today, the court’s decision brought the case to another chapter, but for the young victim and her child, the consequences extend far beyond the courtroom.
While Simaone will spend the next 20 years in prison, the girl will continue living with the consequences of what the court found to have happened to her at just 15.
For Kondowe, the sentence was not only about punishing one man. It was also a warning that positions of trust and responsibility carry a duty to protect the vulnerable, not exploit them.
