Defiler receives 21-year prison sentence

MALAWI: The Limbe Senior Resident Magistrate's Court on April 21,2022, sentenced Gift Masina, 36, to 21 years in prison with hard labour for defiling three primary school girls aged 12-14 at his home in Makhetha Township, Blantyre, writes Limbe Police Deputy Media and Public Relations Officer, Sub Inspector Widson Nhlane.

Prosecutor Sub Inspector Monica Muotchamanja of Limbe Police Station, representing the state, told Magistrate Byson Masonga that one of the victims left her home on December 10, last year to play with her two friends just next to Masina's house.

Masina, according to Muotchamanja, called the three and sent them to buy food for him while he was there.

He enticed the girls and defiled them one after the other in his bedroom when they returned.

Prosecutor Muotchamanja also told the court that one of the girls stayed there for a night, prompting her parents to conduct a search before reporting the incident to the police.

After being interrogated, the girls revealed the entire ordeal, and police later issued hospital referral letters for examinations where the results were positive.

Masina pleaded not guilty to defilement charges, prompting Sub Inspector Muotchamanja to call witnesses against him.

In mitigation, Masina requested leniency, stating that he has dependents who would suffer if he was sentenced to prison.

However, in her submissions, prosecutor Muotchamanja asked for a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, citing the trauma the girls have endured and noting that the convict is a threat to society, particularly young girls.

When sentencing the convict, magistrate Masonga overruled the mitigations and agreed with the state on a harsh sentence.

As a result, he sentenced Masina to 21 years in prison with hard labour in order to deter future offenders.

Masina is from Kadzuwa Village in Thyolo District's Traditional Authority Bvumbwe.