By: Kassim Kajosolo
The Senior Resident Magistrate Court sitting in Mangochi has acquitted, Enock Lucius, a 36-year-old primary school teacher, who was accused of having sexual intercourse with a female child.
Lucius was in a relationship with a girl and they were planning that to get married.
The court head that during the relationship, the girl got pregnant. It was also discovered that the girl had another boyfriend who claimed to be responsible for the pregnancy which made Lucius to stop the wedding.
The court also heard that a local Non-Governmental Organization took the case to police where he was arrested and charged.
Lucius, first appeared in Court unrepresented but Senior Legal Aid Advocate Upile Mapata offered his services through the Legal Aid Bureau.
Lucius, who had already cross examed two state witnesses was represented by legal aid bureau senior advocate, Counsel Upile Mapata.
Counsel then recalled the mother of the victim to be re-cross-examined on the issue of the age of the victim.
During cross-examination, the mother of the victim first said her daughter who was a firstborn was born in 2007 but later on said her second child was born in 2005.
The mother failed to bring to Court a health passport or birth certificate to prove the age of the child.
After all State witnesses were paraded, the accused was found with a case to answer and was called upon to enter his defence.
In defence, the accused told the Court that the victim told him that she was 18 years old and that she had dropped out of school.
At the police, it was discovered that her health passport showed that she was 18 and her former head teacher also testified that 2 years before dropping out of school she was 16 years old.
In his judgment, Senior Resident Magistrate Muhammad Chande pointed out that it was the duty of the State to prove every element of a charge and in that case, the age of the victim was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
The Court went on to say the contradicting evidence on the age of the victim created doubt which was to be resolved in favour of the accused.
The Court then pronounced the acquittal of Enock Lucius who had stayed in custody for 11 months after bail was denied.
