Defiled girl (9) identifies attacker in court

MULENGA MUSONDA writes A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl alleged to have been defiled by a Tanzanian man aged 60 told the Nakonde Magistrates Court that the accused smeared Vaseline on her genitals before defiling her. She was testifying against Robert Kalinga, a tailor, who is charged with defilement of a child contrary to the Laws of Zambia. It is alleged that Kalinga had unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl believed to be below the age of 16. The incident is said to have occurred on July 24, 2020 in Chiyanga Village of Nakonde bordering with Tanzania. When the matter came up for trial before Resident Magistrate George Banda, the victim testified that she was grabbed by the accused person as she was going to play in the late afternoon. She said, he covered her mouth and took her into his house where he defiled her after smearing Vaseline on her genitalia. When the prosecutor asked her to identify the person who defiled her, the girl after gazing at everyone in court stated that the perpetrator was not in court. At that point the court asked everyone to remove their masks and asked the girl to go round the room so she could be sure that he was not around. The girl with the help of the interpreter moved from the front pews to the back with no success, but immediately she reached the accused’s dock and laid her eyes on Kalinga, she screamed, “It’s this one, it’s this one” as she pointed at him. After the identification and cross examination was done, the matter was adjourned to August 19 for continued trial. Kalinga was remanded in custody. The Sun