Attempted defilement lands man in court

It was alleged that Mwiimbu, on January 9 this year in Choma, attempted to have carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 16.
Mwiimbu pleaded not guilty.
But when the matter came up for judgment on Wednesday, magistrate Victoria Chitulangoma convicted Mwiimbu after finding him guilty.
“From the evidence before me, I find that the accused undressed the prosecutrix, undressed himself, and laid on top of the child. There was an overt act necessary to commit defilement and if the victim’s grandmother did not arrive, he could have defiled the child,” Ms Chitulangoma said.
The prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mwiimbu attempted to defile the child.
“I find you guilty of the offence and commit you to the High Court for sentencing,” Ms Chitulangoma said.
During trial, the four-year-old girl, of Choma’s Kabubwe village, narrated that Mwiimbu allegedly undressed her and he exposed his genitals.
“My grandmother arrived from the fields and found him while he was ‘marrying’ [attempting to defile] me,” the girl said.
Earlier, the girl’s grandmother told the court how she almost hit Mwiimbu with a stick after she allegedly caught him red-handed on top of her granddaughter.
The woman testified that on the material day, around 06:00 hours, she went to her farm with Mwiimbu, who helped her to carry some fertiliser.
“When we arrived at my farm, Mwiimbu left the fertiliser and asked me to escort him to a field he wanted to plough, which I did and came back to apply fertiliser at my farm,” the woman narrated.
She told the court that she finished applying fertiliser around 12:00 hours and returned home.
“Upon arrival, I found Mwiimbu in the kitchen. He was on top of my granddaughter. I was confused and looked for a stick so I could hit him but he fled,” the woman said.
Mwiimbu was later apprehended and taken to Mbabala Police Station.

Zambia daily Mail