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A six-month old baby is lying in agony at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) after being defiled and seriously injured by her stepfather.
The step-dad, Nason Khasu, 22, from Mtengo Village, TA Mazengera in central district of Lilongwe, is currently in Police custody.
Hospital director Hadji Juma said Wednesday the baby (in the picture with her mother) was defiled and is being treated for deep cuts on her private parts.
“It’s indeed true that the baby was defiled. She has been stitched in its private parts. Though stable, the baby will have to spend some time in hospital since the wound is deep,” said Juma.
Central Region Police public relations officer Moyenda Chitimbe said the incident happened on Monday morning when the baby’s mother, Elina Mwase, left the child in the care of her husband when she went to a nearby river to draw water.
Chitimbe said Mwase overheard the baby crying loudly as she got near their house on her return from the river.
According to the PRO, upon entering the house, Mwase was shocked to find her husband defiling the baby.
Chitimbe said the suspect was arrested by Matapila Police before being transferred to Nathenje. He said Khasu is currently at the Lilongwe Police Station, waiting to answer charges of incest and defilement.
“If convicted, Khasu can be slapped with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The police is, therefore, advising the public to study the mindset of their spouses and other people before entrusting them with children,” said Chitimbe.
In an exclusive interview at KCH Wednesday, Mwase said she went to draw water at about 6 am, leaving the child with Khasu. But on her way back from the river, she heard the baby making strange cries, only to find her husband lying on top of the baby when she rushed into the house.
“It was like a dream. I asked him what he was doing to the baby with his clothes off. He said he was trying to pick it up since it was crying,” said Mwase, 19, who hails from Madula Village, TA Mazengera.
She said she went outside the house with the baby, but was surprised that she was refusing to breast-feed and instead cried even more loudly.
The nonstop crying, according to Mwase, made her suspect the baby had developed a stomach upset. However, she said she was shocked afterwards to see blood all over the cloth in which the child was wrapped.
“I was very scared. I suspected something bad had happened to my baby. I quickly checked her private parts and found that blood was oozing. She had deep cuts. I rushed into the house, asked my husband what he had done to the baby and he said he knew nothing,” said the mother.
But Mwase further quizzed Khasu why there was blood on his manhood, to which he responded by saying that he had smeared the blood on the genitals after scratching a wound on his mouth.
Not satisfied with the answer, Mwase alerted relatives around the village who quizzed Khasu.
However, the suspect denied to have defiled the baby.
The baby was later taken to Matapila Health Centre, accompanied by Khasu and other villagers, to verify whether or not she had been defiled.
“[The health centre staff] said the cuts on [the baby’s] private parts were too big for them to handle the situation. We were referred to Kamuzu Central and Khasu was reported to Matapila Police where he was arrested,” said Mwase.
She said she had just spent two months in marriage with Khasu after being dumped by her husband.
Mwase said she is determined not to return to Khasu, who she described as “a monster”
The ward at KCH where the baby is admitted to was full of people wearing shocked faces on Wednesday.
Some sympathisers, especially women, could not hold their temper, insulting Khasu and calling him a monster, saying he should be slapped with a stiff penalty if found guilty.
Looking unmoved, Khasu in a later interview at Lilongwe Police Station denied defiling his stepdaughter. He said he was surprised to see the baby’s napkins soaked in blood.
“I am waiting for the medical report from Kamuzu Central Hospital . If they prove the baby was defiled, I will have no choice, but to accept,” said Khasu.
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