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The First Grade Magistrate Court in Mwanza has discharged Chifundo Matope from a case of having sexual intercourse with a child contrary to section 138 of the Penal Code.
Matope, who works at a maize mill, was arrested on 15 September this year and was remanded at Mwanza Prison.
Through his relatives, he sought legal services from the Malawi Legal Aid Bureau and was represented by Senior Legal Aid Advocate Chikondi Mmanga Kasambara.
In court, the accused pleaded not guilty and the State intended to parade five witnesses.
First to testify was the alleged victim aged 17, who denied having had sexual intercourse with the accused person. She further denied knowing the accused person or being in a sexual relationship with him.
Since the witness had turned hostile, the State started cross-examining their witness who continued denying knowledge of the sexual relationship or the reason why she was called to testify.
The matter was adjourned on three different occasions, but the State failed to bring any more witnesses or evidence to prove the allegation.
The Court has therefore discharged Matope under Section 81 (a) of the Criminal Procedure & Evidence Code, giving liberty to the State to resurrect the matter once it has evidence against the accused.
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