2 Men in Mzuzu jailed for raping a 16 year-old girl

Mzuzu Senior Resident Magistrate Court has sentenced 2 men to a 10 years imprisonment with hard labour each for jointly raping a 16 year old girl.

The accused, Yachema Ngwira, 20 years old and Symon Mhango, 27 years old raped the girl on her way back home from a night dance on August 31st, 2018.

Thandi Lungu Mzuzu Police State Prosecutor, told the court that Ngwira and Mhango tied wide open the girl’s legs with ropes and raped her in turns on that night.

Both suspects pleaded in their mitigation’s for the court’s leniency, saying they were first offenders, married and they were sole breadwinners of their families. They further said they had molded bricks which could be destroyed by rains if they are sent to prison.

However, Senior Resident Magistrate Matthews Msiska disregarded the mitigation’s factors and sentenced each of them to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour.

“Considering aggravating factors that the accused used violence, defiled the girl without condoms and that such brutal incidents are becoming rampart accross the country, i therefore sentence each of you to a 10 years jail term as such behavior puts at risk lives of girls and women.” said Msiska.

Ngwira comes from Palango Village and Mhango hails from Mhango Village in the area of Traditional Authority Mtwalo in Mzimba District.