The High Court sitting in Zomba has released an 18-year-old boy, Liasan Thomas, who was convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Phalombe Magistrate Court.

The Phalombe Magistrate Court convicted the boy for the offence of defilement of a 16-year-old girl in May of 2023.

It was heard in the lower Court that the boy was in a relationship with a fellow student who was 16 years old. At the time of the incident, he was caught in the girl’s bedroom by her uncle.

Thomas sought legal aid to have the conviction and sentence appealed. When granted, he was represented in Court by Senior Legal Aid Advocate Alfred Masamba with assistance from Assistant Legal Aid Officer Sinthani Sisya.

In the appeal, the Bureau contended that the age disparity, the relationship between the parties, and comparable case authorities ought to have been taken into account and that the Magistrate erred in law by imposing a 10-year sentence on the appellant.

The reason why the Magistrate erred in imposing the 10-year sentence was because the convict and the victim were in a relationship, and there was no abuse or force used. The age gap between the convict and the victim was two years, and comparable cases from the High Court have argued not to punish defilement convicts where the convict is young and there was a relationship with the victim.

The boy further pleaded guilty to the offence in the lower Court.

The Bureau requested the Court to apply Section 337(1)(b) of the Penal Code and discharge Liasan Thomas, which the Court agreed to, and released the appellant.

At the time of his release, he had stayed in prison for more than a year.