Chisamba man committed to High Court for sentencing

A 28-year-old man accused of defiling a 15-year-old girl has been convicted and committed to the High Court for sentencing by the Chisamba Magistrate Court. Teddy Zulu, of Mpikwa village in Chief Chamuka’s area, was committed to the High Court by Magistrate Litungi Litungi…

A 28-year-old man accused of defiling a 15-year-old girl has been convicted and committed to the High Court for sentencing by the Chisamba Magistrate Court.

Teddy Zulu, of Mpikwa village in Chief Chamuka’s area, was committed to the High Court by Magistrate Litungi Litungi after being found guilty of defiling a child, contrary to Section 138 of the Penal Code, as amended by Act Number 15 of 2005 and Act Number 2 of 2011.

Particulars of the offence are that, on April 13, 2026, Zulu had unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl below the age of 16 years.

In this case, five prosecution witnesses testified and tendered a clinic card to determine the age of the victim, as well as her signed medical report, as evidence.

The accused gave sworn evidence and called one defence witness who testified in the matter.

In his defence, Zulu maintained his denial of the charge, stating that on the material day he was sick and did not have the strength to drag anyone because of a recent operation.

His defence witness, Aaron Sikabutu, told the court that the accused is his neighbour, and that he spent almost the whole day with him since he was sick.

“After spending the day with him, in the evening I woke him up and we had supper at my place. Later, he went back to his home to sleep,” Sikabutu said.

Magistrate Litungi said that according to the findings, the accused had sexual intercourse with the girl, which is corroborated by the victim’s testimony and the medical report.

The court stated that although there was no direct evidence, the victim could not have implicated the accused for a case he did not commit.

Magistrate Litungi said he was satisfied that the State had established its case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt, and convicted him accordingly.

The magistrate said the law has imposed a minimum punishment for which the subordinate court has no power to pass a sentence.

“The court observed that the law has imposed a minimum punishment for which this court has no power,” Magistrate Litungi said.

Under Section 231 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Chapter 88 of the Laws of Zambia, Magistrate Litungi committed the convict to the High Court for mitigation and sentencing.