A 36-year-old community health assistant at Makopa Clinic in Nyimba who sedated a patient and thereafter defiled her has been sentenced to 35 years imprisonment with hard labour.
Mabvuto Phiri sedated the minor, who went to the clinic for an injection for an illness she was being treated for on December 8, 2022.
During the trial, the victim’s mother told the court that her daughter went to Makopa Clinic for an injection around 07:00 hours and only returned home around 12:00 hours.
“When she came back home, I heard her crying and I asked her why she was crying,” the mother testified. “She said she was defiled by ‘doctor’ Phiri.
I then asked her to calm down and explain better.” The mother said her daughter informed her that when she got to the clinic, she found the doctor disposing of medicine and after he was done, he called her to enter a room.
The mother said her daughter explained that after being injected, the doctor later gave her one and half tablets to drink, after which she felt weak within a few minutes.
After the explanation from her daughter, she informed her husband and the matter was reported to Nyimba Police Station, where a medical report form was issued to have her examined at the hospital.
The mother told the court that the doctor’s findings were consistent with the allegations.
Phiri was convicted by the Nyimba Magistrates Court and committed to the High Court for sentencing where he appeared before Judge Dancewell Bowa.
Judge Bowa sentenced the convict to 35 years imprisonment with hard labour with effect from the date of his arrest, which is December 19, 2022.
Zambia Daily Mail
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