Group Village Headman (GVH) Mtsiriza under Traditional Authority Mkukula in Dowa has been sentenced to eight years of Imprisonment with Hard Labour (IHL) by the First the Grade Magistrate Court in the district for raping a 21-year-old woman.

Police Prosecutor, Christopher Daluni, told the Court that the GVH committed the crime on the night of December 25, 2020, when the woman’s husband went to attend a Christmas party within the village, leaving the wife alone.

While the woman was fast asleep, she felt someone having carnal knowledge of her and when she stirred up, she discovered that the GVH, whose real name is Damiano Chimkango, was raping her. Police say she screamed for help but the convict managed to flee the scene.

Appearing before Court, the GVH pleaded not guilty to the charge of rape, prompting the State to parade four witnesses. The medical results at Chankhungu Health Centre in Dowa showed that the woman had indeed been raped.

First Grade Magistrate, Amran Phiri, sentenced Chimkango to eight years IHL to act as a deterrent to other would-be offenders