The State has asked the High Court to slap Andrew Ngomwa, former MASM Chief Commercial Officer, with a 40-year-custodial sentence for rape and defilement and nine years for indecent practice in the presence of a child.
State prosecutor Lynna Kulesi told Blantyre Chief Resident Magistrate Jean Kaira today that Ngomwa committed the offences on his niece, whose parents entrusted him to raise her, but instead, “he took advantage of her vulnerability.”
On the contrary, lawyer for the convict, Fostino Maere, told the court that it should consider a suspended sentence to his client on argument that a “first offender should not be given a custodial sentence unless there is no other way to deal with them.”
Meanwhile, the state has asked the court to commit the matter to the high court for sentencing since the magistrate court’s jurisdiction is limited to 21 years, but defense says the case is within the magistrate’s jurisdiction and should, therefore, not be referred to the high court.
Magistrate Kaira will pass her ruling on the matter on 28 March, 2022.
