Mzuzu Senior Resident Magistrate Curt sitting in Chitipa Tuesday gave Ambokire Silungwe 25, a suspended sentence of six months Imprisonment with Hard Labour after convicting him on a charge of criminal trespassing.

State advocate, Jacob Nambiri said the incident occurred in Njewete Village in Traditional Authority (TA) Mwenemisuku on September 8, 2019 around 10 pm when the suspect went to the house of Hilda Mbughi 60, who is a woman with albinism, and caused her great terror.

“During that night, Mbughi woke up and wanted to go out and relieve herself, and upon reaching the door she saw a man at the foot of her door who immediately grabbed her hand.”

“The woman was greatly frightened and immediately pressed the device she received from government and the alarm went off causing people nearby to rush to her house and immediately arrest the suspect and took him to Misuku Police Unit,” he said.

The suspect was first charged with attempted abduction of a person with albinism but later the charge was changed to criminal trespass after police investigations revealed that the suspect was following his girlfriend who went to Mbughi’s house that night.Silungwe pleaded guilty to the offence and the stateasked the court for a sentence befitting the offence.

Through his layers from Legal Aid Bureau, Silungwe asked the court for leniency citing his age and the fact that he was a first time offender.

Senior Resident Magistrate Fatsani Chitha said the maximum sentence for criminal trespass, contrary to section 314 of the penal code is 12 months IHL but said the suspect would not spend any more time in prison as he has been on remand since September 2019.Chitha gave the convict a suspended sentence of six months imprisonment with hard labour and told him not to commit a similar offence for three years.

Silungwe comes from Mwamalange village in TA Mwenemisuku in Chitipa.

Source-MANA