Ntcheu teacher, another sentenced over defilement

Ntcheu Senior Resident Magistrate court has convicted and sentenced a teacher and one other adult for having sexual intercourse with minor girls under the age of 18.

State prosecutor Beatrice Dzuka said Kwacha Kamwendo, 57, a teacher at Bawi Vision Private Secondary School on the night of March 23, 2023, enticed a five-year-old girl and later sexually assaulted her.

She further narrated that the convict became very close to the victim as they were neighbors and could treat her as a granddaughter where he could even order some domestic chores. The girl narrated the story to her parents after they observed she had some walking difficulties.

Through his lawyer, Zaithwa Milanzi, Kamwendo denied the charge and the state paraded four witnesses who proved the case.

The same court through state prosecutor Emmanuel Mweteteya also heard that Marko Elliot, 50, in the morning of 20th November, 2023 while at his house defiled his 9-year-old granddaughter after all her parents went to the maize field.

He further told the court that the victim revealed the incident on the same day to her parents upon returning from the maize field who noticed that the girl did not attend school classes on the said day.

Appearing in court, Elliot denied the charge and this prompted the state to parade four witnesses and was found guilty and convicted.

The first convict (Kwacha Kamwendo), begged for leniency after telling the court that he is old and is on antiretroviral drugs treatment, is a productive member in the community because he is a teacher and that he is a first offender.

The state however prayed for a long jail term citing that such cases are rampant in the district, the convict failed his role to protect a young girl as he has victimised her, the victim has been left in long term physical and psychological trauma.

In both cases, Senior Resident Magistrate Joshua Nkhono quashed both convicts’ mitigating factors and concurred with the state and sentenced the two to 15 years with hard labour after considering their ages and health status.

Kamwendo hails from Chimbewa village in Traditional Authority Kwataine while Elliot hails from Chabwera village in Traditional Authority Phambala both in Ntcheu district.