Man gets 14 years for sexually assaulting 5-year-old girl

Man, 41, sentenced to 14 years IHL for sexually assaulting 5-year-old girl in Nsanje village, writes Cornelius Lupenga.

NSANJE, Malawi — A 41-year-old man from Chisi village, in the area of Senior Chief Tengani in Nsanje, has been sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment with hard labour (IHL) for sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl, writes Cornelius Lupenga.

After pleading guilty to the charge, Clemence Panangali was sentenced on Tuesday by Nsanje First Grade Magistrate Watson Mankhanamba.

The victim was left at home to harvest sorghum when she was sexually assaulted by Panangali, her neighbour, according to Police Prosecutor Sub-Inspector Victor Nachuma.

Upon the victim's return from the garden, she was found crying and revealed that she had been sexually assaulted.

"This was done at the convict's working place at a maize mill," Nachuma told the court.

Despite the government and non-state actors (NSA) relentlessly working towards uplifting the rights of the girl child, such cases are rampant, Nachuma said.

Panangali pleaded guilty and begged for mercy, claiming that he is a breadwinner and that his wife has a young child to care for.

Magistrate Mankhanamba agreed with the prosecutor and sentenced Panangali to 14 years in prison with hard labour in order to deter future offenders.

The case has once again highlighted the need for increased child protection and harsher penalties for those who commit such heinous crimes.