Kasungu First Grade Magistrate Court has convicted and sentenced 29 year-old man, Bosta Liyaya to 12 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling his own two daughters.
The victims are aged seven and nine, according to court documents, and their father had been sleeping with them since 2014 before being arrested on November 23 2016.
The Court heard that the girls could not spill the beans in fear of reprisals as the convict had been threatening them of severe punishment once they dared to report the incest.
However, the mother of the house learnt of her husband’s heinous behaviour in October 2016 after she had caught him having sex with their 7 year old daughter.
After being confronted, Liyaya apologised and promised not to do it again and strongly warned his wife not reveal the matter.
Fearing for her own life, the wife kept her mouth shut until on November 22 2016 when one of the victims, tired of their father’s inhuman acts, disclosed to one of their neighbours, who forced the victims’ mother to report the matter to police.
Liyaya was arrested on 23 November 2016 and was charged with two counts of defilement contrary to Section 138(1) of the Penal Code.
Liyaya pleaded guilty to the charges and requested the court not give him huge jail term as he was the first offender.
However, Kasungu Police Station Prosecution Officer, Inspector Jennings Mkandawire argued that people, such as Liyaya do not deserve leniency of any kind and equated Liyaya’s behaviour to that of a vicious beast that couldn’t be treated with a kid groves.
Mkandawire then told the court that Liyaya deserved a stiff sentence that would send a loud warning to other would be offenders.
Before announcing the sentence, Magistrate Damiano Banda concurred with Mkandawire and added that people of Liyaya’s behaviour do not deserve leniency considering the circumstance he committed the offence and ages of the victims. Banda then slapped Liyaya with a 12 years jail term on each count to run concurrently.
Liyaya comes from Chiswe village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Chikumbu in Mulanje district.