During his trial, the convict pleaded not guilty.

The state, through Police Prosecutor, Danford Otala, paraded five witnesses against the convict.

Earlier in the court, Sergeant Otala narrated that, on 25 April this year, at Livuzu Trading Centre in the district, Goba asked the girl to help him carry his vegetables home.

The little girl complied, getting into the convict’s house, according to Otala.

“Goba took advantage and forced himself onto the child before telling her not to spill the beans.

“He further urged her to wash her private parts at the nearby river, apparently to conceal evidence,” explained the prosecutor.

The girl, however, couldn’t disclose anything despite feeling some pains from her private parts.

“As she could no longer hold it, the child confided in her peer mates who in turn revealed to her mother.”Otala told the court

Prosecutor Otala added that the mother, on 2 May, took the girl to the police and later to Chikwawa District Hospital where defilement was confirmed.

The state asked the court to impose a harsh sentence on the accused, arguing the crime was serious and that the victim had been traumatized.

In his ruling, First Grade Magistrate Gladstone Chirundu echoed the state’s argument, lamenting the rise in defilement cases in the district.

He handed the convict a 10-year-prison sentence, saying it was a measure to deter others from harbouring similar intentions.

Goba comes from Bodza Village in the area of Traditional Authority Makhwira in Chikwawa District.