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The Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court in Zomba District has sentenced Senior Chief Malemia of Zomba to 21 years’ imprisonment after convicting him of defiling a minor and aiding in procuring an abortion.
Senior Resident Magistrate Elijah Pachalo Daniels imposed 21 years for defilement and nine years for aiding an abortion, ordering the terms to run consecutively for a total of 30 years.
But he clarified that the court’s jurisdiction is capped at 21 years, reducing the effective sentence accordingly, meaning he would serve the 21 years.
Daniels directed that committal proceedings be forwarded to the High Court for confirmation, where the sentence may be upheld, reduced, or increased.
In his ruling, Daniels said Malemia had abused the trust and authority vested in him as a traditional leader.
“As a traditional leader, you were expected to use your position responsibly. But you did not; therefore, your offence is aggravated,” he said.
On the defilement count, Daniels added: “You breached your own law by repeatedly having sexual intercourse with the child, in accordance with the child’s evidence.”
Senior State Advocate Naarai Longwe, representing the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), told the court the State concurred with the sentence.
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