UNCLE IN HOT SOUP FOR HAVING SEX WITH 9-YEAR-OLD NIECE
A fisherman of Kalabo district in western province has been convicted of defiling a 9-year old girl of the same village.
Suuba Munalula, 33, has since been committed to the High Court for mitigation and sentencing, pursuant to Section 214 of the Criminal Procedure Code Chapter 88 of the Laws of Zambia.
This is in a matter where the accused fisherman appeared before Kalabo Subordinate Court Magistrate, Eric Mushitu for ruling.
“The prosecution has proved the case of defilement,” he ruled.
The accused was charged with the offense of having carnal knowledge of a girl below the age of 16 years contrary to Section 138 of the Penal Code Act Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia as read with the Amendment Act No. 15 of 2005.
Particulars of the offence were that on March 20, 2023, the said Suuba Munalula had unlawful carnal knowledge of a 9-year old girl.
When the matter came up for ruling, Magistrate Mushitu stated that the court having heard submissions from the complainant, accused person and state witnesses, said Suuba Munalula has been found guilty of defilement.
During the trial, a medical doctor, David Kambongo, had testified before the court that the girl sustained vaginal bruises and had her hymen broken as a result of penetration.
Meanwhile, a state witness testified that the accused while in a drunken state defiled the girl.
Testifying in court was Kabunyenye Nasilele, the arresting officer, who told the court that the accused remembered calling the girl to his house but that he could not recall what happened next because he was drunk.
Ms Nasilele said that after investigations, the accused was interviewed and afterwards arrested and charged for defilement contrary to Section 138 of the Penal Code Act Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
She further testified that medical results from Kalabo District Hospital were consistent with the alleged circumstance of defilement and hence submitted it as part of evidence in the matter.
Earlier, during the continued trial, the court had heard that the accused is an uncle to the defiled girl.
Mother to the 9-year old girl also testified that on the material day around 13:00 hours, her daughter went out to play and that she did not notice anything when the girl came back until the following day.
“The following day I noticed that my daughter was limping. I checked her private parts and discovered that her private parts were bruised and smeared with a discharge. After asking her, she disclosed that Suuba Munalula had carnal knowledge with her,” the mother told the court.
She said her daughter was taken to the hospital for medical examinations while the suspect was apprehended by a police officer from the nearest police post where the matter was reported.
Meanwhile, the girl also testified how the accused threatened her with death if she disclosed the ordeal.
She testified that the suspect invited her to his home while everyone was away and had carnal knowledge of her.
“He pulled me into a spare room and covered my mouth with a piece of cloth so that I could not scream for help. He threatened to kill me if I ever disclosed the matter to my mother. So I obliged and kept quiet after the act,” she told the court.
The girl narrated that she only opened up to her mother the following day after the mother established that she was facing discomfort and had the private parts bruised.