The Senior Resident Magistrate Court in Dedza has discharged 79-year-old Yotamu Kaliyopa from an offense of defilement that he was accused of.
Kaliyopa was arrested by Kabwazi Police in March on suspicion that he impregnated his teenage granddaughter who was under his custody.
It was reported that the mother of the victim is the one who discovered that the girl was pregnant and when asked, the teenager mentioned three men to have impregnated her. Later on, the girl started mentioning her grandfather to have been sleeping with her, resulting in the pregnancy. Kaliyopa however denied the accusation.
Upon his arrest, Kaliyopa sought legal aid and he was represented in Court by Senior Legal Aid Advocate Chikondi Kambuwa with paperwork assistance from Legal Aid Officer Edith Kaliza and Assistant Legal Aid Officer Nosipho Mwenenguwe.
In the course of the matter, the State after negotiating with Legal Aid Bureau applied for a withdrawal as guided by Section 81 (a) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code having noted that insufficient evidence was gathered against the accused.
His Worship Senior Resident Magistrate James Mankhwazi granted the discharge of the 79-year-old grandfather. In his ruling, he indicated that indeed at the moment, there was a lack of reasonable evidence against Yotamu Kaliyopa in the matter
Legal Aid Bureau
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