The Kasungu First Grade Magistrate court on Thursday, August 27, 2015 has sentenced a 76 year old grandfather to 12 years Imprisonment with Hard Labour (IHL) for defiling a four months old baby girl.
Edwin Kaunda, Kasungu Police Station Publicist confirmed the development to The Maravi Post on Thursday, August 27, 2015 the conviction of Smoke Phiri upon His Lordship Damien Banda found him guilty.
Kaunda said the court heard that the convict who used to live together with the victim’s mother at Maziko village in the Traditional Authority (T.A) Mwase in the district, on May 15, 2015 the grandmother of the victim’s mother asked the old man to carry the baby to her mother who was about 500 meters from her house.
“Instead of taking the child to her mother, the grand father went with the baby into his house where he defiled the child.
The grandmother was later alarmed when she heard loud crying from the baby in the house of Phiri.Upon checking inside the house, she discovered that the baby was breeding heavily on her private parts while the convict went into hiding after the incident. Eventually, the baby’s mother reported the matter to Kasungu Police who referred her to Kasungu District Hospital where defilement was confirmed.
“After hiding for four months, Phiri reappeared in village on the August 24, 2015 which alerted members of the community into tipping the police of Smoke’s whereabouts. The Police came and he was arrested on same day.
“On August 26, 2015, the convict was taken to appear before Court where he pleaded guilty to defilement charge.
Although the grandfather sought lenient sentence from the court based on his old age, His worship Damiano Banda dismissed that plea saying Smoke deserved hard punishment for the grave damage made to the toddler”, elaborates
Kaunda.
Smoke Phiri hails from Mndolo village, Traditional Authority (T.A) Chadza in Lilongwe district.
