A 52-year-old man has been sentenced to 21 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling his two nieces aged 8 and 11 by the Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe.

Sylvester Kambatata was convicted on two charges levelled against him, which he had pleaded guilty to during the trial held on 10 February 2023.

The court heard that Kambatata had defiled the girls between November and December 2022 at Kauma in the Capital City.

In his defence, Kambatata had pleaded for leniency, citing that he was a first offender, on life prolonging ARVs and that he was an uncle to the victims and needed to guide them to grow into responsible citizens.

However, Senior Resident Magistrate Shukran Kumbani delivered a sentence of 21 years imprisonment on each count, to be served concurrently, citing that the aggravating factors of the case far outweighed the mitigating factors.