Corpun file 20356

Daily News, Dar es Salaam, 11 July 2008

Student to be caned for rape

By Peti Siyame
in Sumbawanga

A court in Sumbawanga has ordered that a secondary school student be whipped six times after it found him guilty of raping and impregnating a 16-year-old girl. Leoratus Sepe (20), a Form Three student at Kalangasa Secondary school, was convicted by the Sumbawanga Resident Magistrate's Court on Wednesday after over one year of trial.

In mitigation, the accused had prayed for mercy before presiding magistrate Mr Lyadi Chamshama, saying he was the first offender and a student as well. The police prosecutor, Inspector Chassa Magai, however told the court that the accused deserved a stiff penalty to serve as a deterrence to others since the problem of raping and impregnating young school girls was on the rise.

The prosecutor called three witnesses to substantiate his case. Inspector Magai told the court that the accused committed the crime in December following a three-year intimate relationship with the young girl, who is now a mother of a one-year-old baby girl.

According to Mr Magai, the young school girl was forced to terminate her studies in Form One after it was discovered that she was pregnant. The young girl then told her mother that she had been impregnated and the issue was later reported to the police who arrested and charged the boy.

"I sentence you to get six strokes of the cane because you are a student, otherwise I could have slapped a stiff penalty on you," concluded the trial magistrate. However the prosecution was dissatisfied with the punishment and declared that they would file an appeal in the High Court.

Copyright @TSN 2007 All Rights Reserved

Corpun file 20355

Daily News, Dar es Salaam, 12 July 2008

Man sentenced 35 years for defiling 7-year boy

By Peti Siyame
in Sumbawanga

The Sumbawanga Magistrate's Court in Rukwa region yesterday jailed a 25 years old peasant for 35 years with five strokes of the cane, for defiling a young boy aged seven on March 3, this year.

Resident Magistrate, Mr Lyadi Chamshama convicted Richard Sichone alias Sanzo, a peasant and resident of Kasitu village in Sumbawanga district, after being satisfied by the evidence produced by four prosecution witnesses. The magistrate said the testimony of the victim and prosecution witnesses was credible.

The trial Magistrate further told the court that the prosecution side had sufficiently proved its case beyond reasonable doubts, that Richard committed the offence on the night of March 3 this year, in the house of the victim's parents at Sopa village in Sumbawanga District where the accused, as the guest of the family, was asked by his host to share a room with the victim, the young boy.

Prosecuting, Inspector of Police, Mr Magai Chassa earlier told the court that the accused sodomized the young boy on that fateful night while sharing the same room with the victim. Richard was allegedly caught red-handed by the parents of the victim who rushed to the room after they heard the cries for help from the boy.

When they forced their entry into the room they found the man in the act of sodomising the boy who was crying in pain. When the victim's father examined the son, he found the victim's anus severely ruptured. Prosecutor Magai further claimed before the court that the accused was on that fateful night handed over to the village leadership who detained him until the next day when they handed him to the police.

The young boy was immediately taken for medical examination and treatment at the regional hospital, the prosecutor told the court. Richard who had denied the charge, did not pray for mercy but requested the court to set him free and reiterated his plea of "not guilty".

However, the Public Prosecutor requested the court to give the accused a deterrent sentence, as a warning against any potential offenders of a similar offence. The accused had committed a serious offence that violated the rights of the child, said the prosecutor, stressing that there was also a risk of the boy contracting HIV from the sexual assault. It was, however, not clear if the convict would appeal against the sentence.

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Corpun file 20388

The Citizen, Dar es Salaam, 19 July 2008

Court Orders Girl to Be Canned [sic] Six Strokes

By Joas Kaijage

The Bukoba district court has ordered a school girl, 14, to get six strokes of the cane after pleading guilty of stealing Sh850,000 from her mother. The accused, Judith Anatory, is a student at Hamgembe secondary school in Bukoba.

She pleaded guilty when she was arraigned for the first time with her friend, Lisa Hussein, last Tuesday. Before her conviction, the public prosecutor assistant inspector of police Athuman Said alleged that Judith stole the money on July 11. On the material day she reportedly asked Lisa to help her in cleaning the house. In the course of doing so they came across the huge amount of money and planned to take it away. The girls booked themselves into a hotel and planned to flee to Dar es Salaam, but their plot was foiled and they were nabbed inside a bus.

However, they had already used part of the money to buy two cellular phones and other pricey things including clothes which were found on them. They had a balance of Sh249,400 at the time of their arrest, the court was told.

Judith was convicted after pleading guilty but her friend, Lisa, denied the charge. She was released on bail until August 13 when the case will be mentioned.

Copyright © 2008 The Citizen. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).