Rise in defilement cases worries Minister

Malawi’s Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, Patricia Kaliati, has condemned the increase in defilement cases in the country, arguing there is need for courts to be giving culprits stiffer penalties.

The minister’s remarks come in the wake of defilement cases involving an 11-year-old Standard Four pupil at Mzimba L.E.A Primary School by her 47-year-old teacher, Brian Shaba, and that of a seven-year-old Standard One pupil at Matopoto Primary School by a 32-year-old man, Khilimo Makamo, of Mtola Bota Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) M’mbelwa in Mzimba District.

Shaba has since been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment while Makamo has been sentenced to five years.

But speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Kaliati said it is sad that such old people force themselves on young girls.

She said her ministry is already in constant interaction with the courts to give stiffer penalties to offenders.

“However, there is need to curb the malpractice by sensitising people to its evils. The public should report cases of defilement to police so that the offenders are brought to justice,” said Kaliati.