A 32- year-old man James Staubi who hails from Kwiputi Village, Traditional Authority Jalasi in Mangochi has been sentenced to eight years imprisonment with hard labour by the Mangochi Senior Resident Magistrate Court for contravening section 15 (1) of the trafficking in person act.

Mangochi Police Station Public Relations Officer Sub Inspector Amina Tepani Daudi has confirmed saying Staubi who is a well known businessman at Chiponde Trading Center faced his fate on Friday May 6th, 2022.

According to Daudi, Mangochi Police Station Prosecutor Officer Inspector Amos Mwase told the court that on January 28th, 2022 the convict convinced the victims ( couple) and two others to go and work in a Mozambican farm for a handsome pay.

“Staubi transported the victims through unchartered territory to a Mozambican master only known as Sanudia at Lichinga and returned to Malawi at Chiponde after getting paid by his masters for trafficking the workers,” Daudi said.

She further said that Prosecutor Mwase explained to the court that surprisingly the couple was separated with their Malawian counterparts and worked for two months without being paid and when the wife fell ill she was denied access to medication by the employer.

“They also claimed to be starved for days and later ran away after a tip from well-wishers that they might end up being killed and arrived at Chiponde end of March, 2022 and reported the incident at Chiponde Police Unit who arrested the suspect,” she said.

Daudi added that Staubi pleaded not guilty to the charge but in mitigation, asked for court’s leniency stating that he takes care of his family who would suffer if sent to prison but Prosecutor Mwase in his submission said that the convict took advantage of financial constraints of the victims and also benefited from organised crime.

“Furthermore, Mwase observed that cases of trafficking were rampant especially along the boarders of Malawi where he said traffickers manipulate victims into dubious deals which pose a threat to their lives hence prayed for a stiffer sentence,” she explained.

Daudi then said Senior Resident Magistrate Rodrick Michongwe concurred with the state when passing sentence and hence the 8 year sentence to deter other would be offenders.