A boy aged 17 is in police custody for raping an 80-year-old woman at Mponela in Dowa district.
According to public relations officer for Mponela Police Station, Kaitano Lubrino, the boy is suspected to have raped the woman on July 28, 2020.
Lubrino said the victim left her home to fetch firewood from her garden and it is believed that the boy was following her up.
According to the victim, she was grabbed and forced down by the teenager. She screamed but no help came her way and the boy raped her.
She later reported the ordeal to Village Headman Kandiwo under Senior Chief Kayembe who referred the matter to Nambuma Police Unit.
Police sent her to Nambuma Health Centre for medical examinations where it was confirmed that she was raped.
Meanwhile, police have arrested the suspected rapist and he will appear before court soon to answer a case of rape contrary to Section 132 of the Penal code once investigations are over.
The law prohibits any person to have unlawful carnal knowledge of any woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent if the consent is obtained by force or means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear of bodily harm, or by means of false representations as to the nature of the act, or in the case of a married woman, by personating her husband.
