Mulanje Police Spokesperson Gresham Ngwira says they are keeping in custody a primary school headteacher who was found sexually abusing a standard five pupil in the district.

The police has  identified the suspect as Montfort Liwonde, 50, who is headteacher at a primary school in the district.

Ngwira disclosed that  on Wednesday the 15-year-old girl went to school as usual and on this day pupils at the school were being given 10kg of maize each.

The headteacher took advantage of the initiative and he told the girl to go to his office to get her share of the maize.

“While there the suspect started fiddling with the girl’s private parts and as this was happening another pupil just outside the office saw this and reported the matter to the victim’s mother who reported the issue to police,” Ngwira said.

The headteacher is likely to answer defilement charges   according to  section 137 of penal code.

He hails from Yohane village, Traditional Authority Juma in Mulanje district.