Court to sentence three Area 25 women Thursday

The Lilongwe Senior Magistrate’s Court has adjourned to Thursday the sentencing of three women convicted for assaulting and urinating on a woman in the City.

Senior Resident Magistrate Shyreen Yona  adjourned the case to have ample time to assess the degree of the injuries on the victim after taking over the matter from Nkukula Second Magistrate’s Court.

Yona adjourned the sentencing after State Prosecutors, lead by Sub Inspector Charles Eliasi, asked to the Court to give a stiffer punishment to the convicts for assaulting a fellow woman in Area 25 Sector C in Lilongwe to deter other would-be offenders from committing the similar crime.

“We ask this court to give a stiffer punishment, possibly the maximum sentence that this offense attracts to deter others from committing the same offense,” he said.

He also told the court that the victim was subjected to all sorts of abuse for eight hours and that in addition, pictures of her nakedness were sent on the social media by the convicts which are currently circulating worldwide on the internet.

The convicts are 27 year-old Thokozani Msiska from Enukweni, Traditional Authority Mtwalo in Mzimba; Zelifa Phiri  27, from Setha village, Traditional Authority Zulu in Mchinji and 40 year-old Rodness Chisale feom Gonthi village, Traditional Authority Kamenyagwaza in Dedza.

They were arrested mid October over charges of committing an act intended to cause grievous bodily harm and insulting the modesty of a woman.

Their arrest followed video clips which went viral on the social media showing the  convicts unaddressing and severely assaulting their fellow woman.

The video was shot at some alleged brothel in Area 25 Sector C on October 18 2017.

In the clip, the convicts are also seen urinating in the face of the victim.

They consequently taken to Nkukula Second Magistrate Court in Lumbadzi to answer charges of acts intended to cause grievous harm and insulting the modesty of a woman contrary to Sections 235 and 137 of the Penal Code, respectively.

The first count attracts a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, while the second count attracts a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment.

And October 25, 2017 the Nkukula Second Grade Magistrate Court convicted the three women on both charges.

Following the conviction, Sub Inspector Eliasi applied to the court to transfer the cases to Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate Court for sentencing due to gravity of the maxmum penalty attached to the first count.

Second Grade Magistrate’s Court is only mandated to pass punishment not exceeding 10yrs IHL, hence the transferring of the case to Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate Court.

The prosecutor was joined by Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) deputy director for civil and political rights Peter Mota who said the case is an eye opener to the fact that women can also perpetrate violence against fellow women hence asked for a stiffer punishment to the convicts.

The convicts are remanded at Maula Prison.

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