The Chisamba Magistrate Court has adjourned the trial of a 55-year-old man accused of defiling his seven-year-old great-granddaughter to July 8, 2026.
The accused of Chisamba District is charged with defilement of a child, contrary to Section 138(1) of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia, as amended by Act No. 15 of 2005 and Act No. 2 of 2011, the charge he has denied.
Chisamba Resident Magistrate, Susan Magalashi, has adjourned the case to allow the state to call more witnesses.
This came after three prosecution witnesses including the victim and a 13-year-old boy, provided sworn testimony, signed affidavits, and a medical report to support the evidence.
All the witnesses who took the stand during the session held in camera positively identified the accused from the accused’s docket.
It is alleged that on May 9, 2026, the accused defiled a seven-year-old girl, believed to be his great granddaughter, in Chisamba District.
The court heard that the accused routinely sexually assaulted a minor over an extended period, with only his wife aware of the heinous crime.
According to witnesses, the accused took advantage of his wife’s absence, who had gone to attend a funeral, to allegedly sexually assault his great granddaughter.
The witnesses testified that the accused lured the minor from her aunt’s residence to his home during the day.
“The accused had told the victim to use a different direction to get to his house so that people could not see her coming to his house,” the witnesses said.
The court heard that the suspect undressed himself and the victim before proceeding with his act but was cornered when the victim’s aunt arrived unexpectedly, following screams from the suspect’s house.
“When I came back from work, as I was talking to my young sister, I saw my niece’s sandals by the door to the accused’s house. Within no time I heard her voice crying inside the house and I followed and called her name,” the witness said.
After the victim narrated her ordeal to her aunt after leaving the accused’s premises, the aunt returned to the accused’s residence but did not find him.
“He started abusing me a long time ago. His wife found him sexually abusing me on three occasions. The first and second time she found us, she slapped him, then the third time she whipped him with a cooking stick,”
“He threatened to kill me like the way my mother died if I tell aunty or anyone. The time aunty called me, he held me by my mouth,” the victim told the court.
The court further heard that acting on a public tip, the victim’s aunt and her nephew tracked the hiding suspect into the bush, apprehended him, and transported him to Chisamba Police Station.
The victim was issued a medical report and taken to Chisamba Rural Health Centre, where she was administered PrEP and advised to return for medical checkups every three months.
Meanwhile, the accused remains in detention pending the resolution of the case, in accordance with the government’s landmark legislation classifying sexual offenses as non-bailable.
