Mentally ill man faces trial for alleged sexual abuse

Mulenga Musonda writes @sunzambian Despite the medical report indicating that the man who molested a 3 years old girl    to be mentally retarded, the Choma Fast Track Court for Gender Based Violence will go ahead with the trial. In this matter, Brian Mudenda a resident of Mutepaile Village in Chief Mapanza’s Chiefdom is charged with Un-natural Offences contrary to section 155(a) (i) as amended by Act No.15 of 2005 Chapter 87 of the Penal Code of the Laws of Zambia. Allegations are that Mudenda had unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl below the age of 16, an act that was done against the order of nature. The incident is said to have happened on 27th March 2020 in Choma district of Southern Province. The guardians discovered  the horrifying sexual abuse of the child after noticing her bleeding profusely with severe cuts on her backside. When the matter came up for plea before Principal Resident Magistrate Idah Mupemo for production of report after his return from Chainama Hills Health Facility where she had earlier sent him in May for mental examinations, the report indicated that Mudenda cannot follow Court proceedings. Public Prosecutor Pearson Chilumbu who availed the contents of the report stated that Mudenda suffers from epileptic seizures and mental retardation who cannot follow Court proceedings. Magistrate Mupemo thus invoked section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code and entered a plea of not guilty in respect of Mundenda and set January 27, 2021 as date for trial. Mudenda was remanded in custody.