Mzuzu MCP Councilor Mlogera sex assualt case enters defence

A case involving Chibanja Ward Councilor, Charles Mlogera who is accused of defiling three under aged girls in Mzuzu, has entered defence at Mzuzu First Grade Magistrate Court where two defence witnesses were paraded and cross examined.

Mlogera who belongs to Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and is alleged to have committed the offence on August 8, 2015, was the first to enter defence pleading not guilty to having defiled the minors.

In his defence, the councilor said he, on the stated date, gave the three girls (names withheld) a lift from Chibanja location and released one of them within the same area before dropping the remaining two near Metro Shop in Mzuzu City.

“I would like to tell this court that really I gave these young girls a lift after they had asked me to take them to town and since I was going the same direction, I accepted to take them and left one within Chibanja before leaving the two near Metro Shop. From there, I proceeded to do my own personal business before finally going home,” Mlogera told the court.

In cross examination, lead police prosecutor, Betty Msowoya questioned Mlogera on how the girls got his mobile number which necessitated their communication. Mlogera responded that being a councilor of the ward(Chibanja), his mobile phone number is prone to be accessed by a lot of people hence could not state how the girls got the number.

Tempers flared during cross examination course when Msowoya kept on pressurizing Mlogera to read the police caution statement where prosecutor Msowoya wanted to prove that Mlogera had willingly given the girls his number by simply giving a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer rather than explaining.

Order then restored when defence counsel intervened and advised Mlogera that it was not an offence to give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to any question from the State.

Msowoya then proceeded questioning Mlogera on why he forced the under aged girls to drink alcohol at Mzoozoozoo tourist place.

“Do you remember that in one of the testimonies, the victims said you told them to drink beer simply because soft drinks are not sold at Mzoozoozoo?” asked Msowoya a question which the councilor simply said he did not know.

The second to enter defence was Charles Ngulube, a taxi driver who operates in Mzuzu City and mostly around beer drinking joints.

Ngulube said on the material day, he picked two young girls and two men from one of the drinking joints and dropped the two men at Viyele Rest House before taking the two young girls to Chibanja Location in the wee hours of August 9, 2015.

Ngulube told the court that during the course of their journey he overheard the two girls, complaining that they were being forced to implicate Councilor Charles Mlogera by lying that he took them to a drinking binge and later defiled them.

“I came here just to tell this court that the two girls were wondering on why they should implicate an innocent person into a serious crime he never committed. The young girls said their parents had personal issues with Mlogera and that is why they are being forced to implicate him,” said Ngulube.

Prosecutor Msowoya then queried Ngulube whether he was a witness fit enough to be testifying in the case at hand to which Ngulube said he was.

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