The Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court in Mangochi has sentenced 23-year-old musician Abdul-Karim Saidi, popularly known as Bandera, to three years in prison.
The court heard that Bandera took a 14-year-old girl and stayed with her at a lodge for three days without her parents’ knowledge. The girl’s mother tried to get her back but failed, until she involved other family members who managed to bring the girl home.
Even though Bandera’s lawyer asked the court to give him a lighter sentence because he’s young, the State said what he did was serious and he needed to face the consequences.
Senior Resident Magistrate Muhammad Chande agreed with the State, saying the sentence should send a message to others who take advantage of young girls.
Bandera will now spend the next three years in prison. defilement charges that were leveled against him were
According to reports, the defilement charges that were against Bandera were dropped as the state didn’t produce a witness who could testify to that.
