Maulana Kapinga, 39, sent the people in court into laughter during mitigation for saying Satan influenced him to defile and impregnate his 14-year-old step-daughter in Nkhotakota district.
The then accused Kapinga, further repentantly declared his responsibility as anticipated by any parent to the victim and the unborn baby.
He therefore, asked for court’s leniency when passing judgment in order to start fulfilling as promised in court.
Thereafter, regretfully, he blamed Satan for luring him to do such a bad act.
However, representing the state, prosecutor Sub-Inspector Cedrick Cosmas objected to the accused’s mitigation and asked for a stiff punishment subsequent to the proliferating of such cases. He then alluded to the psychological and physical challenges the victim is going through following Kapinga’s breach of trust and care.
The ordeal started on November 21, 2019 when the police arrested Maulana Kapinga, 39, over defilement charge. The arrest was a reaction to the victim’s (name withheld) complaint ensuing consistently defiled about a month.
According to the victim, her step-father in March this year proposed his love to her to which she entirely repudiated. The victim’s refutability, though, hit deaf ears as one night the convict tip-toed to the victim’s room and threatened her with a knife once she scream-out of his intruding there. The convict then undressed the victim and fulfilled his libidinous starvation.
The putrefied comportment by the convict continued for a month until the victim left the house after accompanying her mother who became sick and moved to her home village.
A month later, it was learnt that the victim was pregnant to which she promptly mention her step-father Kapinga as being responsible.
Subsequent to the incident, the convict vanished from the village only to be arrested seven-months later on November 21, 2019.
To the police and court, Kapinga pleaded guilty of committing defilement against section 138 (1) of the penal code.
Despite self-acceptance, remorsefulness and the longing to take up the responsibility of taking care of the victim and the unborn baby of the accused, passing the judgment on Wednesday December 04, 2019, Nkhunga First Grade Magistrate Court (FGM) Kingsley Buleya allied the state prosecutor’s wish to give the accused a stiff punishment.
Buleya said: “You are cruel, and inhumane. You deserve a stiff punishment as proposed by the state. You are not worthy to be in the society.”
“I therefore, convict you to one hundred and twenty months imprisonment with hard labour (IHL) to deter would be offenders,” concluded Buleya.
The convict Maulana Kapinga, 39, hails from Namakwati village in the area of senior chief Malengachanzi in Nkhotakota district.
