Police arrest suspect for sodomising street child

Police in Lilongwe have arrested a roaming plastic bottle collector for allegedly sodomizing a street connected youth.

Lingadzi police spokesperson Cassim Manda Mkombozi said the suspect, Patrick James, met the victim in Mchesi Market, in Lilongwe where the 18-year-old victim was also collecting some plastic bottles.

Mkombozi said upon learning that the victim lived in the street after being chased away from his home by his father, the suspect offered him shelter at an unfinished house where he was also sleeping illegally.

“Things changed just a day later, whereby the following night, the victim was surprised to see James removing his clothes.

“When quizzed about his strange behaviour,  the suspect allegedly threatened the victim’s life if he dared to shout.

“The following morning, traumatized by the ordeal, the victim bade farewell to his host, a decision he later rescinded after James promised him never to repeat the alleged abuse.

On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the victim is said to have made up his mind to run away after the suspect had attempted to sodomize him again while they were in transit from selling bottles at Kanengo,” said Mkombozi.

Later, a pastor came to the victim’s aid and took him to Lingadzi Police Station, said Mkombozi.

Mkombozi said hospital report has since confirmed that the victim was sodomized.

James, 36, hails from Mateketa village in the area of Traditional Authority Chikowi in Zomba district, and will this morning be taken to court to answer the case of sodomy contrary to Section 153 of Malawi’s Penal Code, which attracts the maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment.