Malawi court jails father for offering to sell his daughter born with albinism

The Zomba Chief Resident Magistrate court has sentenced a 22 year old man to 14 years imprisonment with hard labor for offering for sale his 7 year old biological daughter born with albinism.

Thomas Yusufu( left)and Wyson Pichesi after being sentenced‎.
Thomas Yusufu( left)and Wyson Pichesi after being sentenced‎.
Regional Prosecution Officer Senior Superintendent Dickens Mwambazi told the court that the suspect Yasin Pichesi 22 on 11th June, 2016 at Muheya village in the district of Machinga took away his 7 year old biological daughter living with albinism by deceitful means with intent to murder her or put her life in danger of being murdered.
According to the Prosecutor, Police received a tip that the suspect was offering for sale bones of a person born with albinism.
They then started tracking down the suspect and used one of their own officers Superintendent Frank Daniel Chambo as a potential buyer.
 After they met, the suspect took the potential buyer to Munde hill in Machinga district where he said he had hidden the bones but they were not found and he claimed that his friend might have taken them.
He later changed tune saying that since the bones were not found, he can sell his 7 year old biological daughter at the price of K11,000,000.00 because what he wanted was money.
He then went to his home where he took the victim after deceiving her mother that he wanted to buy her clothes and Police ambushed him and he was arrested as he was about to hand over the child.
Mwambazi also went on to inform the court that upon interview, Wyson Pichesi confessed that between 2015 and 2016 in Mangochi district, he also conspired with Thomas Yusufu to murder Sheriff Buba a boy living with albinism with intent to remove his bones and sell them to a businessman within Mangochi district.
This made the Police to arrest the second suspect.
Following this, the first suspect Wyson Pichesi was charged with three counts; abducting a child in order to murder which is contrary to section 261 of the Penal code, Offering a child for sale contrary to section 82(a) as read with section 83 of Child Care Protection and Justice Act and Conspiracy to commit a felony which is contrary to section 404 of the Penal code.
While the second suspect Thomas Yusufu was only charged with Conspiracy to commit a felony and they both pleaded not guilty to their respective charges a development that forced the Police to parade witnesses including the potential buyer Superintendent Frank Daniel Chambo and Superintendent Harry Kazembe who was an investigator.
After parading of the witnesses by the state, the court found the two with cases to answer after the state proved the cases beyond reasonable doubt and consequently convicted them.
Regional Prosecution Officer Senior Superintendent Dickens Mwambazi asked the court to consider giving them stiffer sentences considering the seriousness of the offences.
He said people with albinism are living in fear hence the need to give these suspects stiffer sentences so that it should be a lesson to them and would be offenders.
But in mitigation, the suspects asked the court to be lenient when passing sentence saying that they have families to look after.
Passing sentence, Chief Resident Magistrate Agnes Patemba said the suspects were supposed to know that they have responsibility before committing the offence.
She therefore sentenced the first convict Wyson Pichesi to 14 years imprisonment for the offence of abducting a child in order to murder, 5 years for offering a child for sale and 4 years for Conspiracy to commit a felony and all the sentences to run concurrently; which means he will serve 14 years imprisonment with hard labour.
Patemba also sentenced the second convict Thomas Yusufu to 4 years imprisonment with hard labour for Conspiracy to commit a felony. She said she has given them such sentences so that it should be a lesson to them and would be offenders.
Wyson Pichesi comes from Selemani village, Traditional Authority Ngokwe in Machinga district while Thomas Yusufu comes from Chingo village, in the area of Traditional Authority Chose in Mangochi district.

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Dr Tambala
Dr Tambala
7 years ago

Foolish magistrate those sentences should have run consecutively!!!!

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