The Mchinji First Grade Magistrate Court sitting in Kapiri has sentenced a 51-year-old to 12 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling his 4-year-old step-daughter.

State Prosecutor Sergeant Misheck Kalawa identified the convict as Ashani Ezani, and told the court that Ezan took advantage of his wife’s absence on April 11, 2023, whom he had sent to his bosses to report that he had a swollen arm and that would not report for duties on that day as a result.

However, in mitigation, Azani asked for leniency, citing that he is a bread winner and takes care of his old mother, which was declined by the state owing to rampant cases of defilement in the district.

Ashani Ezani hails from Botomani Village, Traditional Authority Masumbankhunda in Lilongwe District.