A 32-year-old man in Lilongwe who threw his two kids into a deep well with the intention to kill them has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. 

The convict, Aubrey Madzinkusamba, was on Thursday, September 12, found guilty on his own plea before Senior Resident Magistrate Court in Lilongwe. 

The court heard that on July 4 2024, the convict visited his children — an 8-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son — at their mother’s house.

He had separated with their mother, according to Sub Inspector Foster Benjamin, Deputy National Police Public Relations Officer.

Following his visit, the father convinced the kids that he would buy them Kamba puffs at a grocery shop. 

He, instead, took them on a long day’s walk round the village which ended late into the evening and at the village’s deep well, the court heard. 

Madzinkusamba first grabbed the daughter and pushed her down before throwing in his son, said Benjamin, quoting evidence from prosecutors.

Three days later, he was arrested following police investigations, leading to the kids’ rescue after a three-day ordeal.

When interrogated, he told the police that he wanted to kill the children so that he could dispossess his wife of them if she decided to marry another man. 

In court, he pleaded guilty to the two counts of committing an act intended to cause grievous harm. 

Prosecuting the case, Sub Inspector Shimon Joshua, who is based at the Central West Region Police, said the accused was heartless and his acts exposed the innocent kids to unimaginable horror.

He said it was the mercy of God the kids survived the ordeal in the snake-infested well.

Joshua went on to ask the court to hand the accused a harshest sentence since he was a danger to his own children.

Passing sentence, Senior Resident Magistrate Shukran Kumbani condemned Madzinkusamba as evil for exposing his own children to near-death experiences.

Kumbani then sentenced him to 15 years in prison to deter would-be offenders.

Madzinkusamba comes from Solomoni Village Traditional Authority Makwangwala in Ntcheu District.