By Owen Nyaka
SALIMA-(MaraviPost)-As one way of empowering women and girls, for so long advocacy on sexual abuse to children under age has been talk of the nation, yet the hidden incident of a woman in Salima district aiding a man to defile a girl under age is not only unique but very unfortunate, regrettable and retrogressive on Gender Based Violence (GBV) and inequality.
While law enforcers are taking vital role in curbing the barbaric act of sexual abuse, it has been established that Malawi Police Service has for years failed to trace and apprehend, Happy Paul – a man who committed serious offence of defiling a minor.
On November 8, 2018; which is about six years ago Happy Paul at Katambo village in the district of Salima defiled a then 13 year girl and run away, until to date is still at large.
Court records shows that First Grade Magistrate (FGM) sited in Salima district sentenced a then 22-year-old married woman, Elizabeth Paul to 15 months Imprison with Hard Labour (IHL) for assisting his brother to defile a minor.
Investigation shows that the woman aiding a man went to Nkhotakota prison and served her sentence while the offender, Happy Paul of Katambo village in Salima district run-away and that he has not been apprehended for committed an offence of House Holder permitting defilement of a girl under the age of sixteen years of age on her premises contrary to section 142 of the penal code.
Elizabeth being the owner and occupier of the house assisted his brother Happy Paul to have carnal knowledge on the then 13-year girl in her house.
The innocent girl was six months pregnant during the trial according to hospital tests and this meant that defilement started way back before November, 2018.
The first prosecution witness was the girl (the victim). She told the court that she is 14years old and dropped school in standard 4.
She told the court that the accused was her in-law. She married to her uncle.
She told the court that as she was coming from the bole hole, she called her to assist her to remove the tin of water from her head.
After that the cruel woman told her to greet her brother who was inside the house.
She stated that as she was greeting her brother the accused came out of the house.
She stated that it was the same time she was pulled and forced to have sex.
The witness stated that the accused after hearing leaving her in the house, she started cleaning plates.
She stated that she did not report that she was defiled to a child protection officer.
When the matter had reached the police she was referred to hospital for medical examination and after testing she was told that she was pregnant.
The brother of the accused who had defiled her later fled to Mulanje district.
Second witness was the mother of the victim and she told the court that the victim is her daughter and the girl dropped school in standard 4 because she is pregnant.
After she had known; she took the girl to hospital where she was found pregnant.
Third prosecution witness was Inspector Kabango; he told the court that on 5th February, 2019 he received a complaint from the parents of the victim that a girl of 14years old was on 8th November, 2018 defiled by Happy a brother to the accused person Elizabeth Paul.
The complaint was that the defilement took place in her house.
Having heard the complaint, the girl was sent to hospital and after the examination she was found pregnant and a medical report was submitted as court evidence number one, caution statement and formal charge were second and third evidence respectively.
After ruling, the accused choose to give evidence. She just admitted that her brother had come to her house. She admitted that she had called the girl to meet with her brother to have sex.
In the present case, it was provided that the girl was a child, she was 14years old during trial, and secondly the girl and the accused herself admitted that the girl was defiled by Happy Paulo a brother to the accused person.
The result of the defilement was that she got pregnant.
The accused person is involved because she took part for the defilement to take place.
She had allowed the defilement to take place in her house.
She was the one who had called her in the house with the intention that her brother should defile the girl.
An indicator was that after the girl had entered into the house the accused left the girl inside the house with her brother.
She knew what her brother wanted to do to the girl that was why she just comes out of the house and closed the door.
The court finds the accused guilty and she was convicted.
The witness said the accused is the first offender; however the court should consider that the girl is 14years old.
The pregnant that she has as young girl she will have problems in delivery.
The accused did not act as a woman. She does have a child at her back and how can she feel if someone can do exactly what she has done.
The state requested the court to impose a sentence that will teach her a lesson not to repeat.
In mitigation, the accused said her mother passed away and she looks for the children.
Her grandmother is sick and she is the one who is looking after her and that she begged bail.
Delivering the judgment, the then First Grade Magistrate Kantiki who retired now on medical grounds says the offence of a person who is the owner of a house permitting a man to defile a girl under the age of 16years old; its punishment is 5years Imprisonment.
The accused person is a young woman aged 22. She is married, she is a first offender.
All the days which she was on trial she was alone but today the accused has brought a child.
What she has done is to try to escape punishment so that the court should think of the child who is innocent to stay in prison. She wants to defect justice.
However, the offence is serious in the eyes of the law. Such offence was not supposed to be committed by the young mother like the accused since there is a relationship because her husband is the uncle of the victim.
She would have been the first person to provide protection to the girl.
The girl of 14years was innocent, she dropped school. She is pregnant only her poor mother will provide support to the girl.
The unborn child will be like an orphan because the father who impregnated the girl escaped to unknown place.
The accused person must receive punishment because of the seriousness of the offence and the way how it was committed.
Kantiki said the appropriate punishment for Elizabeth is imprisonment and the aim of the punishment is to teach her a lesson and she must know that she did a wrong thing, she has put the innocent girl in problems.
She will be a mother at her small age because of the accused person.
“Other women with similar minds, must also take a lesson. The accused was sentenced to 15months Imprisonment with Hard Labour (IHL),” said Kantiki.
Some villagers within the victim’s rural location, says when the incident happened; Zathu Pawailesi crew was in the area at the time of the offence and they reported the matter to Women’s Legal Resources Centre (Wolrec) upon noticing that there was total silence on the matter.
It is Wolrec that tipped the former Officer-in-Charge for Salima Police who followed the issue with keen interest.
The concerned villagers who opted to be unknown said the issue was discussed amongst the relation and the man who committed the offence was asked to pay which he did before run away.
Commenting on the issue, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Coalition of Child Rights said it is very unfortunate that since the year 2018 until to date Malawi Police Service has not apprehended the man who defiled the innocent girl yet the woman that aid the man served her custodial sentence.
“Law enforcement agencies should act with speed to capture the suspect. He is a danger to many more children in society. However, the similar incident happened in Karonga district.
“We tried our best from 2021 up to now but there is no information which lead to his arrest, so the general public should assist law enforcers with information that could clue to whereabouts of these criminals,” says Machemba.
Most defilement cases especially in girls under age are not exposed neither reported to relevant authorities.
Malawians should take a leaf of what Zathu Pawailesi and Wolrec staff did to alert the Police about the incident after noting that the innocent girl’s relations had shelved this matter.
Had it been that Zathu Pawailesi crew did not visit the area, this could have been one of the million unreported cases.
The gender gap in this article is that the man who committed the crime is still on the run while the female who assisted the man to defile the underage girl served her custodial sentence at neighboring Nkhotakota prison since Salima district has no prison