‘Impotent’ niece defiler jailed 25 years

THE Kasama High Court has slapped a 25-year jail sentence with hard labour on a 47-year-old man for defiling his eight-year-old niece.
Ndola High Court judge Charles Chanda, sitting in Kasama recently, jailed Christopher Bwalya for defilement.
Passing the sentence, Mr Justice Chanda said it is sickening that Bwalya molested the girl on more than one occasion and breached the trust of the family because children were left in his care in the absence of their mother.
“On the whole, I am satisfied that there is overwhelming evidence against the accused because he was caught in the act and the evidence was corroborated and as such, I uphold the conviction of the accused for defilement.
“I have heard what counsel has pleaded on your behalf in mitigation that you are a first offender and indeed you deserve my lenience. I, however, find that there are aggravating circumstances in this matter as you are an uncle of the victim,” Mr Justice Chanda said.
He added: “I, therefore, sentence you to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour with effect from October 5, 2012 the date of your arrest,” Mr Justice Chanda said.
Bwalya on October 3, 2012 in Kasama, had unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 16.
Kelvin Mulenga testified that on the fateful morning around 07:00 hours, he left his home in Ngoli village to pursue his debtors in Masuku village.
He testified that when he arrived at Bwalya’s sister-in-law’s house, he found a boy and girl who told him that their mother had gone to Nseluka village.
Mr Mulenga told the court as he was leaving, he went behind the house and found Bwalya defiling the girl.
The girl also testified that on a date she could not remember, she was at home with her three siblings while her mother was away at Nseluka village.
She recalled that Bwalya took her into the bush behind the house where he defiled her.
The girl also testified that Bwalya defiled her on another occasion while   her mother was away and threatened to kill her if she dared tell anyone about the incident.
She told the court that she bled from her genitals and her underwear was stained with blood.
The girl said Bwalya threatened to beat her if she showed the blood-stained underwear to her mother.
Joyce Kanyanta testified that Bwalya was warned against defiling the girl after she narrated to her that he had been sexually abusing her and that he had done so on several occasions
In his defence, Bwalya gave evidence on oath and did not summon any witnesses.
He denied defiling the girl and claimed to be impotent.
The court ordered that Bwalya be examined and the medical examination revealed that his penis functioned normally.

Zambia Daily Mail