A girl aged 9 has been raped and murdered in Liwonde Township leading to the arrest of a 26-year-old man identified as Issa John.

Machinga police publicist Davie Sulumba said on 31 August, the victim and her sister aged 16 went to their family’s garden to scare away baboons which were eating their maize.

It is there when the suspect appeared and offered the young girls sugarcane which he got from his father’s garden.

“The suspect also asked the girls to escort him to Likwenu River on grounds that he shall share the girls fishes which he will catch at the said river but the girls denied.

“The victim’s elder sister then went to continue chasing away the baboons leaving the two behind,” said  Sulumba.

But when she returned, the elder sister did not find the two where he had left them.

A search was carried out but the search team only found the victim’s underwear in the garden belonging to the suspect’s father.

It was on 2nd September when the body of the victim was found floating in Likwenu River near the garden she was raped in.

Police and medical personell visited the scene and took the body for a postmortem which was done at Machinga District Hospital and revealed the death was due strangulation.

The suspect comes from Mpotola village in the area of traditional authority Sitola in Machinga.