A 21-year-old man in Salima district, Jellard Makhuwira, has been found with no case to answer in a case which he was accused of defiling two girls under the age of 16.
It was alleged that the two girls, aged two and four, were playing near their parent’s house under a mango tree and a man came over and offered them mangoes.
The man according to the state, took the two girls to an incomplete building nearby to give them the said mangoes, but he instead undressed them and defiled them one by one, and fled.
One of the girls narrated the incident to her mother and the toddlers were taken to the police, then later to Salima District Hospital for examination.
On 24 November 2022, Jellard Makhuwira with his friend was passing by the house after a tiresome day of hunting for piecework. At the house, they were stopped by a strange man who called for them saying he had some questions to ask.
The two were taken inside a house where they found a little girl whom the man was claiming to have been defiled by Makhuwira.
“He asked the girl if we were the ones who defiled her but she refused. Another girl with her mother was called in and was told to point out which one of us had defiled her and she pointed at me,” read part of the statement Makhuwira made at police upon his arrest.
According to the police, the accused was believed to be the one who defiled the girls because one of them identified him based on the black top that he was wearing.
Makhuwira when arrested that day was charged with two counts of defilement, which he denied.
He sought legal assistance and he was provided with legal representation by Legal Aid Bureau’s Senior Legal Aid Advocates Clive Chiudzu and Ruth Harawa.
Seven state witnesses were paraded in the First Grade Magistrate Court and evidence was presented to prove the matter.
In his statement, the accused denied the allegations and demonstrated to the court that he had no idea who the girls were and why they believe he had anything to do with the said crime.
“Our argument was that a medical report presented by the state in court showed no penetration on the little girls and the state was basing its evidence on what one of the girls was saying,” said Senior Legal Aid Advocate Clive Chiudzu.
First Grade Magistrate His Worship Anthony Banda in his case to answer ruling concurred with Legal Aid Bureau and saw no reason why the accused must be tried any further. In the court, there was no confirmation that penetration occurred on either of the girls and there was unclear whether or not one of the two girls identified the victim.
He has since been acquitted and set free after staying in custody from the day of his arrest.
Source:Legal Aid Bureau Malawi
