Zomba Principal Resident Magistrate Court has referred a defilement case involving police officer Sergeant Twaliki Mpaweni to the High Court for a final ruling.
Mpaweni is answering a court case of defilement committed at Kachulu Police Post in Zomba where he had sexual intercourse with a girl aged 14.
Principal Resident Magistrate Martin Chipofya, therefore, referred the case to the High Court, saying the lower court’s maximum sentence is 21 years sentence.
Chipofya said it is only the High Court that can give Mpaweni a deserving sentence for the offence he committed.
Counsel Vitumbiko Mbizi from the Women Lawyers Association said he was satisfied with how the Principal Resident Magistrate Court handled the case.
She expressed hope that the High Court would give the right judgement of the case considering that Mpaweni was well conversant with laws that protect children.
Counsel Mbizi said what Mpaweni did affected the girl psychologically, such that he deserved a stiffer penalty. The lawyer representing Sergeant Mpaweni Counsel, Hanleck Davie Ching’anda from Legal Aid Bureau, expressed discomfort over the Principal Resident Magistrate Court’s decision to refer the case to the High Court.
He said he was comfortable with the case at the Principal Resident Magistrate Court, thinking that it would finish the case with a sentence of less than 15 years imprisonment.
Mpaweni is alleged to have committed the offence on August 27, 2023, at Kachulu Police Post and is currently under police custody awaiting judgment.
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