By NORMA SIAME –

A MAN of Chinsali District has been sentenced to 30 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling his 10-year-old step daughter and giving her six crickets for lunch.
Before Kasama High Court Judge Petronella Ngulube was Joseph Kabuswe who was convicted of defiling his stepdaughter between January 1 and April 14, 2013.
The victim testified how she went to visit Kabuswe with her younger sister.?The trio went to the field together and Kabuswe sent away the younger of the two girls. He then defiled the girl and threatened to kill her if she told her mother.
After the act, Kabuswe then gave his stepdaughter six crickets to take home for lunch. She testified that after the sexual assault, she began feeling ill and was taken to a clinic by her teacher.
The teacher, Barbara Chisonda, 39, testified that she noticed the victim was not attending school regularly.
The head teacher at the school summoned the child’s parents to discuss the health of the child but a trip to the hospital revealed that was she was defiled.?The child’s mother Gift Lungusa, said when she questioned her daughter as to who had defiled her, she named her stepfather.
Kabuswe was subsequently arrested. During trial, he professed innocence claiming he was falsely implicated by his mother-in-law.
His lawyer Keith Katazo argued that he could not be convicted because there was no corroboration with the identity of the perpetrator.?Countering Mr Katazo, State advocate Cassandra Soko submitted that there was no motive to falsely implicate the accused.
After perusing the record, Mrs Justice Ngulube, said the accused ran away after he defiled the victim and was only apprehended after efforts were made to find him.
She said she had noted that Kabuswe was a first offender, that there were no aggravating circumstances and he was remorseful and had learnt that it did not pay to have carnal knowledge of a child.
“However, the convict took advantage of his wife’s absence and defiled his stepdaughter who was only aged 10. This is an affront to the values of society and was a breach of trust on the part of the convict. I, therefore, sentence the conceit to 30 years imprisonment with hard labour,” she added.