Zambia: A twenty five year old pregnant woman from Kabwe District has been sentenced to one year in a correctional facility. The young woman has been accused of assaulting a fourteen-year-old who she suspected of having an affair with her husband.
A 25 year old will have to deliver while serving in a correctional facility after the Kabwe Resident Magistrate Judge, Catherine Mumba, sentenced Precious Kampamba. She was facing one count of Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm by assaulting the juvenile of the same compound.
The officials involved in the incident shared some details of the incident. Notably, Precious Kampamba assaulted the 14-year-old on September 11, which caused her actual bodily harm.
The court heard that on the material day, Kampamba approached the adolescent who she suspected of having an affair with her husband. She confronted the victim who denied the allegations. Afterwards, the convict sounded an alarm by calling her a prostitute, causing a mob to descend on the juvenile.
The victim was beaten by a group of people till she fainted. Later, the Resident Magistrate Catherine Mumba, the court found Kampamba guilty as charged and convicted her.
But during mitigation, Kampamba told the court that she was remorseful of her actions. She also argued that she was nine months pregnant and feared that her innocent child would be born in prison if she was sentenced
“Your honor, I’m due for delivery any day, am asking for leniency as I wouldn’t want to subject my unborn baby to the harsh conditions of the prison, please consider a suspended sentence for me, am even ready to compensate the victim should that please the court.” She pleaded as she produced her antenatal medical cards.
However, Magistrate Mumba said the case of assaulting a child was serious and attracts a minimum sentence of five years imprisonment and stated that the court had exercised its maximum leniency by sentencing her to one year.
“I have considered your circumstance, and taken into account that you are the first offender. However, the case you committed is a grievous one, beating a girl old enough to be your daughter to the extent that she fainted, I therefore send you to prison for one-year simple imprisonment,” Magistrate Mumba pronounced.
The court advised Kampamba to handover her baby once it was delivered to the department of Social Welfare, which she said would facilitate its safety until the mother serves the sentence.