Magistrate decries high sex assualt cases
The Mchinji First Grade Magistrate, Rodwell Meja Phiri took a five minute break from presiding over two defilement cases and started preaching on the evils of the vice.
Phiri said defilement cases in the district have reached an alarming rate disclosing the court handles two or more cases every week, a development he said was uncalled for.
“Defilement cases are very rampant in this district especially this year. You can see that every week I always handle two or more cases,” he said angrily.
He stressed that the court would not relent in stretching laws to the perpetrators in order to protect young girls.
“We are shocked in this district because people especially men are not taking defilement as a serious offence,” he added.
Magistrate Phiri said on the other hand young girls are looking for money and in due course they end up being defiled.
Responding to assertions from some quarters that the punishments given to the perpetrators by the courts are lenient hence fueling the malpractice, Phiri said the law says the punishment for defilement is life imprisonment but that each court has got its own jurisdiction.
Meanwhile after presiding over the first defilement case Phiri found 52 year old Elias Chulu guilty of defiling a four year old girl and slapped him with 12 years imprisonment with hard labor and adjourned the second case to 11 August 2017.
This comes barely two weeks after the same court sentenced Anthony Mkwanda to 30 years imprisonment with hard labor for defiling three under aged girls.
Meanwhile magistrate Phiri has advised the general public that the courts in the country will not be lenient in punishing perpetrators of defilement.
