Malawi man gets jail for abduction and sex assault on two girls
A resident Magistrate’s court in Malawi’s eastern city of Zomba has sentenced a 42 year old man Richard Mandala Chisale to three and half years imprisonment with hard labour for abducting and defiling two girls.
Eastern Region Prosecution Officer Assistant Commissioner of Police Mwawi Kaluwa told the court that, the suspect abducted and defiled two girls aged 12 and 15 from the month of March to May this year.
Kaluwa said the issue came to light after the parents of the 12 year old girl who was in standard 7 at a certain School within Balaka Town reported the missing of their child who did not come back home from School.
“The girl was found after three months and upon interview, the girl revealed that she was being kept by the suspect Richard Mandala Chisale who was defiling her a alongside her five friends.”
But the police only managed to find one girl who claimed she was also being defiled when they went to search for other five girls at Chisale’s house.
The suspect pleaded guilty to one count where a 15 year old girl complained to have been defiled but denied the second charge of abduction.
But court found him with a case to answer after the Police paraded witnesses and also tender the medical report which was obtained at Balaka District Hospital that revealed that the girls were defiled.
In his submission before sentence Kaluwa asked the court to consider giving the suspect a stiffer sentence considering the seriousness of the offence and that these cases are becoming rampant in the country.
He said one of the ways to protect our girl children is to give offenders like Chisale “stiffer sentences that would serve as a lesson to him and would be offenders.”
But Chisale asked the court to be lenient when passing sentence considering that the girls consented to have sexual intercourse with him and were not locked up in his house.
Acting Resident Magistrate Gift Makanje conquered with the Police that cases of defilement are becoming rampant in the country and agreed that the suspects need to be given stiffer sentences.
But considering circumstances of the case and that the girls consented, she therefore sentenced him to 42 months for the first count and 36 for the second count and the sentences are to run concurrently.
Makanje said she has given him such a sentence so that it should be a lesson to him and would be offenders.
Richard Mandala Chisale comes from Kandengwe village, Senior Chief Nsamala in Balaka district.
Meanwhile the victims have been united with their respective parents after going through counselling.
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