26-Year-old man of Ndola will spend the next 20 years in incarceration with hard labour for defiling his seven-year-old step-daughter.
Ndola High Court judge-in-charge Emelia Sunkutu handed down the sentence on Patrick Chipoka after she established that the ingredients of the offence were properly proved by the prosecution before the magistrate’s court.

In this matter, Chipota was last year charged with defilement of a girl under the age of 16. When the matter came up for sentencing before Justice Sunkutu on Friday, Chipota’s lawyer Emmanuel Sichone told the court that his client was a young man with a family to look after. Mr Sichone said the time Chipota spent in detention was a learning process because he took time to reflect on his actions which he regretted.
“We plead for a minimum sentence to be imposed on the convict,” he said.

But in meting out the punishment, Justice Sunkutu condemned Chipota’s action because he needed to protect his stepdaughter instead of abusing her.She said there is need for society to protect children from sexual molestation. “I don’t know the language to use to deter offenders because others have continued committing crimes despite the stiff punishments.

“This was your stepchild who was seven years old. Even if she was not your own blood, you should have protected her. What pleasure do you get from your action?” Justice Sunkutu said. She said Chipota did not deserve a minimum sentence because of the nature of the offence he committed.
Justice Sunkutu sentenced Chipota to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour from the date he was arrested so that he could reflect on his action.
To help curb defilement in Zambia, Section 138 of Act number 25 of 1941 of the Penal Code was amended to introduce Act number 15 of 2005.
Under this Act, the court imposes a minimum statutory sentence of 15 years.