THE Ndola High Court has sentenced a 24-year-old security guard to 35 years imprisonment with hard labour for sodomising a seven-year-old girl.
Mrs Justice Petronella Ngulube on Wednesday convicted Kasonde Twambo of Roan Township in Luanshya after finding him guilty of an unnatural offence.
“Looking at the gravity of the offence and the age of the child and the trauma she suffered, I, therefore, sentence the convict to 35 year imprisonment with hard labour,” Mrs Justice Ngulube said.
Particulars of the offence are that Twambo on November 7 last year in Luanshya, had unlawful carnal knowledge of a seven-year-old girl against the order of nature.Twambo denied the charge. Passing the sentence, Mrs Justice Ngulube said she had taken Twambo’s mitigation into consideration but that he brutally sexually abused an innocent child in an unnatural way.
“In the process, he even strangled the poor child who no doubt will be traumatised for life,” Mrs Justice Ngulube said.
Twambo is free to appeal to the High Court within 14 days.
During trial, the girl told the court that she was playing with her friend on that morning and later went to her friend’s house to bath her younger brother.
“When we reached her home, her uncle asked me to get some water for him which I did,” the juvenile testified.
She recalled that after giving him the water, Twambo asked her to go the sitting room and he followed her.
The girl said Twambo undressed and sodomised her.
She testified that Twambo squeezed her neck in an attempt to strangle her and no one came to her rescue.
She said feacal matter later started coming out involuntarily due to the act.
“I left the house without any clothes and on my way home, I met Bana Chibwe (Mother of Chibwe) whom I narrated the ordeal to,” she said.
The juvenile said she was taken to the hospital by Bana Chibwe.
When put on his defence, Twambo opted to remain silent and did not call witnesses.
In mitigation, Twambo asked the court to exercise maximum leniency on him because he is married with a child.