Zomba man gets 14 years for rape

The Machinga First Grade Magistrate’s Court last week sentenced 20-year-old Lloyd Sinoya to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling a two-year-old girl.

Machinga Police spokesperson Amos Martin Tione said on Thursday Sinoya committed the offence at Bauleni Village, Sub-Traditional Authority Nkoola in the district.

He said state prosecutor Pilliot Ganizani told the court that the convict on September 1 2012 dragged the girl from her home to his house where he defiled her.

“Her mother was away when the incident happened. Upon returning home, the mother saw her child coming from the convict’s house and noticed sperms on her thighs,” he said.

Tione said medical examination conducted at Machinga District Hospital revealed that the child was raped.

In mitigation, Sinoya asked the court for leniency, saying he looks after ageing parents. But in his ruling, magistrate Jones Masula said defilement is a serious case which has both physical and psychological implications on a victim.