Jail for sex assaulting teacher
Phalombe First Grade Magistrate Court has convicted and sentenced to nine years imprisonment with hard labour (IHL) a primary School teacher who turned the noble profession into a leeway to satisfy his sexual cravings by defiling 11 years-old girl.
First Grade Magistrate, Felix Mandala jailed the accused, Nelson Katandi a teacher at Chitimbe Junior Primary School in the district to 108 months IHL despite pleading not guilty to the offence.
Katandi 25, and hails from Nsanja village T/A Mpama in Chiradzulu committed the offence on January 10th, 2014 in one of the classrooms at the school.
“After classes, he called the victim (name withheld) a standard three pupil and asked her to take some books into one of the rooms at the said school. He followed her, locked the room and grabbed her,” explained Phalombe police Publicist, August Nkhwazi.
While in the room, Katandi is said to have undressed the victim before forcing himself on her. He later released the girl after satisfying his deplorable sexual craving, and asked her not to disclose the incident to anyone.
But, the victim reported the ordeal to her parents who took up the matter with Mulomba Police Unit. A medical report from Mulomba Health Centre confirmed the girl was indeed defiled.
Katandi who has automatically lost his job had pleaded not guilty to the charge of defilement contrary to Section 138 of the Penal Code, but the State paraded five witnesses whose testimony convicted the accused.
In his ruling, First Grade Magistrate, Felix Mandala said the offence deserved stiff punishment following a rise in defilement cases in the district and the country as a whole despite efforts by the judiciary in incarcerating perpetrators.
Magistrate Mandala then jailed Katandi to 9 years imprisonment IHL to serve as a warning shot to would-be offenders.
