LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court has on January 8, 2021, convicted and sentenced Alex Ojuku to serve a jail term of 10 years with hard labour for the offense of trafficking in persons contrary to Section 14(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act of 2015 as read with Section 16 (1) (h) (i) of the same act.
The court heard through state prosecutor under the office of Director of Public Prosecutions Eunice Ndingo that between April and May 2018 in area 47, the accused person trafficked a 20 year old Riyard Randeree and fled him to Brazil with dangerous drugs.
According to Salomy Zgambo, Lingadzi Police station spokesperson, Eunice told the court that the accused person made the victim swallow the drugs before escorting him to KIA. She further said that the trafficked person died in Brazil due to the drugs he swallowed.
Eunice pleaded with the court for stiffer punishment because the accused person planned the crime meticulously and that he transported the victim and gave him two million kwacha without the consent of the parents despite the fact that they were living in the same compound.
Eunice also told the court to consider time because it took 2 years for the accused person to plead guilty. Had it been that he pleaded guilty in the first place, he could have been considered on his sentence, but he wasted court’s time and public resources in investigating and prosecuting the case.
She further said that the state proved beyond reasonable doubts all the elements of recruiting, transporting and intentions were to exploit the victim. She said that the accused person abused the vulnerability of the victim and transported him to Brazil, hence pleaded for custodial sentence of not less than 10 years.
Alex Ojuku pleaded not guilty to the charges which prompted the state to parade 6 witnesses who proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused person committed the crime.
Two and half years down the lane, Ojuku changed his plea and admitted to the crime saying that he realized his mistake.
In mitigation, Ojuku told the court that the state has said it all.
“The matter has dragged for 2 years 7 months now, whatever the state said is based on humanity. As humans, we are prone to errors. I am a first offender and it was part of human error and I felt very sorry from the bottom of my heart,” explained Ojuku.
He also told the court that for the time he was at remand, his family’s life more especially that of his children have been affected. Hence pleaded the court to tamper justice with mercy.
Passing judgment, Senior Resident Magistrate Shyreen Yona Chirwa concurred with the state that the act of the accused person was very aggravated in nature whereby it costed life of a promising young man.
The magistrate wondered why the accused person chose not to inform the victim’s parents.
Chirwa said that the maximum sentence for the offense he committed is life imprisonment, but she said that she will consider mitigating factors given by the accused person by showing remorse and being apologetic.
The magistrate also said that when passing judgment, she would look into the fact that by the time the offense was committed, the country was already in an outcry of drug abuse cases more especially in area 47 where the offense happened.
She then sentenced Ojuku to 12 years, but then reduced it to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour.
The convict Alex Ojuku aged 60 hails from Imo state in Nigeria.
