Police in Dowa District have arrested Village Headman M’bwatamila who is suspected to have indecently assaulted a 10-year-old girl after applying black powder on her private parts.
Dowa Police Station Publicist Sergeant Alice Sitima confirmed the arrest.
Sitima said that the traditional leader, whose real name is Chisoni Basiketi, aged 71, committed the offense on Friday September 1 2023 in his own house.
According to the child’s grandmother, the child and her friends went to a garden to fetch some vegetables.
She added that later in the evening, they were called into the suspect’s house, one by one.
“During her turn, the victim was called in and the suspect closed the door and forced her to remove her underwear,” she he explained
Sitima said that in the process, the village headman started touching her private parts while applying black stuff on them.
When the issue came to light, the child was taken to Dowa District Hospital where she was examined and found with black stuff around her private parts and hymen.
Police immediately arrested the suspect and charged him with indecent assault.
Meanwhile, he has admitted to indecently assaulting the victim and he will appear in court to answer the charge.
