The Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Nkhotakota has sentenced 50-year-old Robert Kachingwe to 18 years imprisonment with hard labour for having sleeping with his 11-year-old stepdaughter.
Police Prosecutor Thokozani Juziwel told the court that Mwale had been defiling the girl repeatedly for three years after marrying her mother and had been threatening to stab the girl if she revealed the ordeal.
But she eventually reported the matter to Police in November last year, leading to the arrest of the stepfather.
Juziwel asked the court for a stiffer punishment to deter would-be offenders since the convict had the responsibility of protecting the girl but chose to violate her rights.
Chief Resident Magistrate Madalitso Chimwaza concurred with the State and gave the 18 year sentence as a deterrent to would-be offenders.
Kachingwe hails from Malisewo Village in the area of Traditional Authority Kanyenda in Nkhotakota District.
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