ACB nabs Pakistani linked to defilement
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Saturday arrested a Pakistani whose discharge from a defilement case in March this year raised eyebrows, forcing activists to report the matter to the Inspector General (IG) of Police.
The suspect, identified as Muhammad Hanif, was alleged to have defiled a school girl, 14, in Mudi residential area in Limbe on March 15 after he offered her a lift from school.
ACB director general Reyneck Matemba in an interview confirmed the arrest, but declined to disclose reasons, saying doing so would disturb their operations.
Hanif, 57, was arrested on March 16 by Limbe Police after the girl reported the incident before seeking medical examination at the One Stop Centre in Blantyre which confirmed she was defiled.
However, the suspect was released and the matter was picked up by Limbe Police Station where a prosecutor handling the matter, sub inspector Ishmael Abubast, registered it before Limbe Magistrate’s Court as case number 204 of 2020.
A charge sheet shows Hanif was charged with an offence of rape contrary to Section 133 of the Penal Code to which he pleaded not guilty.
Centre for Human Rights, Education, Advice and Advocacy then wrote the Police IG to re-arrest the accused and the ACB to investigate corrupt elements by police officers handling the matter.
The girl told our sister paper Weekend Nation in an interview on Thursday that she was waiting for transport at Peretia in Limbe to her home when the accused offered her a lift around 5.30pm.
