NRC student to serve 5yrs in prison for defilement

A second year student at Lilongwe university of Agriculture and Natural Resources(NRC), Pilirani Mataka was on August 31, 2020 convicted to five years imprisonment with hard
labour for defilement by Salima Senior Resident Magistrate court.

The court through state prosecutor seargent Pemphero Dzanjalimodzi, heard that Mataka had been spilling the beans with a girl under the age of 16 years since April, 2019.

He further told the court that on August 12, this year, Minesi Moffart, mother to the victim caught Mataka red handed with her daughter in his house and later reported to police.

In his trial, 21 year old Mataka pleaded guilty to the charge of defilement levelled against him which is contrary to section 138(1) of the penal code.

After being convicted, the state prosecutor seargent Pemphero Dzanjalimodzi asked for a stiffer punishment, saying the offence is serious in nature and the victim’s education is doomed because she is now two months pregnant.

In mitigation, Mataka begged for court’s leniency, arguing that he is the first offender, a second year university student whose education may be disturbed, will take care of the pregnancy and he supports his widowed mother.

Passing sentence, Senior Resident Magistrate Joana Kwatiwani concurred with the state and sentenced the convict to five years imprisonment with hard labour to deter would-be offenders.