The Senior Resident Magistrate Court in Mzuzu has begun hearing a case involving Zolozolo Police Unit officer, Sergeant Bob Kamzimbi, who is accused of neglect of duty in relation to a 2022 defilement case.

Kamzimbi is alleged to have failed to expedite a case involving a then 16-year-old girl, now 19, who was raped by a man currently serving a 12-year prison sentence at Mzuzu Prison for another defilement charge.

The State, represented by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), has so far paraded two of its seven witnesses the victim and her mother both of whom testified that they reported the matter to Kamzimbi. They told the court that the officer had assured them he would handle the case.

DPP public prosecutor Jonathan Mumba described the proceedings as a promising start.

Kamzimbi is being represented by defense lawyer Kelvin Nyasulu from the Legal Aid Bureau. Presiding Magistrate Ashford Harawa has since adjourned the case to May 21, 2025, for continuation.