Be careful, don’t defile! High Court has enhanced defilement sentence from 21 years to, listen, 40 years….!
The High Court sitting in Lilongwe has today, Wednesday, enhanced the sentence of a man, convicted and sentenced earlier for defilement, from 21 years to 40 years imprisonment.
The convict was arrested in February 2021 for defiling his step daughter, on a number of occasions. He was charged with the offence of defilement and underwent trial before the Chief Resident Magistrate Court in Lilongwe and was convicted in January 2022.
He was later sentenced to 21 years imprisonment in July 2022. The convict, name withheld for ethical reasons to protect the identity of the victim who is a minor, however appealed against the conviction and sentence.
On the other hand, the State, through lawyer Pappano Kamwendo from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), cross-appealed against the sentence meted out, suggesting that it be enhanced to 45 years.
Justice Annabel Mtalimanja presided over the appeal, and delivering her judgement, she observed: “In the past the starting point for the offence of defilement was 14 years imprisonment. However, these offences are on the rise. Clearly, these punishments have not served their purpose.
“It is my view that for offences of defilement, the starting point should be 20 years imprisonment. Taking into account all factors surrounding this case, I enhance the sentence from 21 years to 40 years imprisonment.”
Chief State Advocate Dzikondianthu Malunda, who is Director of Criminal Litigation in the DPP Chamber, was in court today representing the State at the delivery of the sentence, and he welcomed the verdict as it is deterrent enough and it sends a strong warning.
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