he High Court in Lilongwe has freed a boy convicted as an adult, ruling that he was a minor when he was tried and sentenced.
Shazim (not his real name) was first brought before a lower court on October 30, 2025, charged with having sexual intercourse with a child under 18 and the charge alleged that the offence took place on October 13, 2025, in Dedza District and involved a 12-year-old girl.
He was recorded as 22 years old and he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment with hard labour.
During confirmation proceedings on June 10, 2026, Senior State Advocate Edward Partridge, representing the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), raised concerns about his youthful appearance.
Senior Legal Aid Advocate Levison Seyani, who represented the boy on behalf of the Malawi Legal Aid Bureau (LAB), shared the concern and a review of the lower court record showed that the charge sheet had originally recorded his age as 17, but the figure had been handwritten over and changed to 22 without any recorded inquiry or explanation.
The High Court ordered a formal medical age assessment the same day and the assessment, carried out at Kamuzu Central Hospital on August 20, 2026, concluded that he was 17 years old at the time of the examination.
This established that he was a minor when the alleged offence took place and when he was arrested, tried and sentenced in October 2025.
Following the assessment, the DPP agreed with LAB’s submissions that he had been wrongly tried and convicted as an adult.
The DPP conceded that the proceedings were invalid and asked the High Court to quash the conviction and order his release without seeking a retrial.
Shazim (not his real name) was first brought before a lower court on October 30, 2025, charged with having sexual intercourse with a child under 18 and the charge alleged that the offence took place on October 13, 2025, in Dedza District and involved a 12-year-old girl.
He was recorded as 22 years old and he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment with hard labour.
During confirmation proceedings on June 10, 2026, Senior State Advocate Edward Partridge, representing the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), raised concerns about his youthful appearance.
Senior Legal Aid Advocate Levison Seyani, who represented the boy on behalf of the Malawi Legal Aid Bureau (LAB), shared the concern and a review of the lower court record showed that the charge sheet had originally recorded his age as 17, but the figure had been handwritten over and changed to 22 without any recorded inquiry or explanation.
The High Court ordered a formal medical age assessment the same day and the assessment, carried out at Kamuzu Central Hospital on August 20, 2026, concluded that he was 17 years old at the time of the examination.
This established that he was a minor when the alleged offence took place and when he was arrested, tried and sentenced in October 2025.
Following the assessment, the DPP agreed with LAB’s submissions that he had been wrongly tried and convicted as an adult.
The DPP conceded that the proceedings were invalid and asked the High Court to quash the conviction and order his release without seeking a retrial.
