A 26-year-old man identified as Timothy Chinthenga has been sentenced to 21 years in jail for raping a 10-year-old child in full view of her younger brother.
The Senior Resident Magistrate court sitting in Limbe heard from Sub Inspector Jacqueline Kakhiwa heard that the convict raped the on September, 20, 2020 in a bush near Bangwe tavern.
Sub Inspector Kakhiwa said the victim was going home together with her younger brother.
Along the way, they met the rapist at Bangwe Inn who gave the girl K2, 000 and the boy a wrist watch to her brother. He then told the two to follow him.
Upon arrival at a place near Bangwe tavern, he dragged both of them to a nearby bush where he raped the girl in full view of her young brother.
After committing the offence, he escaped but well-wishers managed to apprehend him and brought him to Bangwe police where he was put in custody and charged with defilement an offence that contravenes Section 138(1) of the Penal code.
When he appeared before court, he denied the charge levelled against him. This made the state prosecutor to parade five witnesses who testified against him, proving him guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
In mitigation, the convict asked the court to be lenient when passing sentence, saying he is a breadwinner.
In submission, Sub Inspector Kakhiwa asked the court to mete out a stiffer punishment. She said despite being the first offender, the rapist deserved a deterrent sentence because the offence committed is serious in nature and attracts a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
She further told the court that the girl is heavily traumatised and that the rape will have a negative effect in her life.
Passing judgement, Senior Resident Magistrate Lawrence Mchilima, while concurring with the state prosecutor, quashed the convict’s migration factors and sentenced Timothy to 21 years imprisonment with hard labour to deter would-be-offenders.
Timothy Chinthenga comes from Wisiki village in the area of Traditional Authority Machinjiri in Blantyre.
