Child legislators demand justice on strange acquittal of “Village head defiler”

Lilongwe East Community Children’s Parliament has ganged up to demand justice over a matter involving a Village Headman sentenced for defiling a 13 year-old dramatically found his way out after only serving three months of his jail term.

Village Headman Mlondora was convicted and given a 20 year sentence at Maula but is allegedly walking about a free man in Chiwazeni village Traditional Authority Mazengera in Lilongwe.

The matter which happened in June last year, was raised during deliberations of the 2024 Children’s Parliament at Nkhoma in Lilongwe rural.

According to Billy Ashani Speaker of Children’s Parliament, the issue was first reported during last year’s Parliament that the Group Village Headman defiled a child and when it was presented, World Vision Malawi and other partners including the Police investigated the issue.

They managed to visit the chief who was apprehended and he confessed to have committed the act and when the matter was brought before the court, he was handed a 21 year Imprisonment with hard labour (IHL) sentence.

However the community’s sigh of relief was short-lived because barely three months later, he was seen walking about freely around the village and the market area.

“As Children’s Parliament, we kept asking ourselves questions as to how someone who was convicted and sentenced for a crime of defilement is seen in the village. We asked ourselves how 21 years had quickly elapsed but we were at pains as we cannot directly approach him over the matter.

“We rely on the Children’s Parliament to air our concerns and today’s event presented an opportune platform to speak on the matter so that authorities and organisations such as World Vision, Plan, Save the Children can assist us to bring to an end such malpractices so that children can continue with their studies and have a brighter future”  said Ashani.

It is the children’s expectation that this matter will be further probed to establish if indeed the chief is in the village so that its urgently addressed just the same way child marriages have been ended citing a case where a teacher was involved in a love affair with a school girl at Kaundama.

World Vision with the help of the Police ended the marriage and the girl is back to school with the teacher arrested. The Speaker lamented that these developments limit children’s future potential preventing the area from developing.

Recalling the incident, the minor explained that she left home to gather relish and when she arrived at the garden, she was asked by the Chief to help him carry some stuff he had on him and she kneeled down out of respect.

“He started touching me and when I asked him why he was doing that, he told me to keep quiet and fondled and undressed me and started having sex with me and before long, some young men appeared and asked him what he was doing to which he replied what have I done?

“When the matter was brought before another chief, we were told to wait and it was later taken to police where I was questioned and then the chief went on the run. A search for him was mounted until he got apprehended”

After his unusual release from custody, the girl indicated that whenever they meet, he doesn’t speak to her.

Her friends have been taunting her as someone who has sleeping with the chief.

As if this were not enough, the girl’s mother suffers from mental health issues.

Programmes Manager for World Vision Malawi Harold Munthali, said the lower court’s verdict was revised by the High Court where it was discharged for lack of evidence which he was equally surprised with.

“We are also a law abiding institution; this is the High Court that ruled that there was lack of evidence; so we are just working with other stakeholders just to appreciate the reasons behind the discharge.

“However you will appreciate that this was the High Court that ruled that there was lack of evidence and we know that in our Courts we have the Supreme Court where it can be appealed.

“So we are working with other stakeholders to see the possibility that the government can then appeal so that at the end of the day, the child that was wronged should see justice”