-Step-mother jailed for child abuse

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Step-mother jailed for child abuse

Luwingu, May 31, 2013, ZANIS– A 33 year old woman has been sentenced to five years simple imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm contrary to the laws of Zambia.

Appearing before magistrate Davy Simfukwe was Annie Chanda 33 of Molokai village in senior chief shimumbu area of luwingu district in the northern province.

Facts before the court were that Chanda on April 28 2013 did injure a child aged 7 by pulling his manhood as a way of disciplining him for urinating on a reed mat.

Chanda who is the step mother of the boy told the court that the child has been urinating on his reed  mat every day despite having advised him stop but failed and instead she decided pull down his manhood so that the child is disciplined.

“I asked the juvenile why he had continued to urinate on reed  mat but he could not give satisfactory answer, I got hold of his penis and twisted it with a view of stopping him from urinating,” she narrated.

In mitigation Chanda pleaded for lenience saying her action was merely to discipline her step son from urinating.

And magistrate Simfukwe said the convict being the first offender and having readily admitted the charge was entitled to lenience but the case committed has a minimum sentence of five years and not exceeding 10 years.

He explained that children are always vulnerable and they need to be protected at all times.

“One wonders how a person could think of pulling the manhood of a defense less child as the way of disciplining him”, said magistrate Simfukwe.

Mr Simfukwe said the courts are duty bound to protect vulnerable children in society by imposing stiffer penalties to deter would be offenders like Chanda .

  The magistrate said the only way the court show leniency was by sentencing the convict to the minimum sentence as provided for under the law,.

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