By KASONDE KASONDE –
A FORTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD father was slapped with a 30-year jail sentence with hard labour for defiling his 13-year-old daughter.
Moses Musonda of Serenje, Central Province, committed the offence in February, last year.
He defiled the teenager after picking her up from school.
He denied the charge ahead of trial.
The State called in several witnesses among them his daughter, who informed the court how he defiled her on their way from collecting her school results.
The girl said her father was riding the bicycle on which he carried her on their way home but stopped at a nearby bush and forced himself on her.
She narrated that upon finishing, he got cotton and cleaned her private parts and told her not to tell anyone about what had happened.
In mitigation, Musonda asked the court to be lenient with him as he was a first offender and that his wife had since ended their marriage after what transpired.
He said this had caused him to be stigmatised.
In passing judgement Kabwe High Court judge Elita Mwikisa said it was unfortunate that Musonda who was supposed to protect his own child from ‘useless’ men who took advantage of young girls he instead, decided to destroy his daughter’s future.
She added that Musonda should have refrained from having sex with his own daughter as he was not an animal which lacked self control.
Ms Justice Mwikisa then slapped the sentence stating that this should also serve as a warning to would-be offenders.