The Wa Circuit Court has handed down a substantial prison sentence of 71 years to a 35-year-old man named Ahmed Rashid. This sentence came as a result of his conviction on ten counts of defilement, marking a grave violation of the law.Initially, Ahmed Rashid had vehemently denied the charges leveled against him, entering a plea of not guilty in the court proceedings.

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However, presiding over the case was His Honor Jonathan Avogo, who, upon careful consideration and examination of the evidence, rendered the verdict.The conviction stemmed from Rashid's unlawful sexual acts involving seven minors, all girls, which ran contrary to Section 101 of the Criminal Offenses Act, Act 29.

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The prosecution, led by Principal State Attorney Saeed Abdul-Shakuur, had initially presented twelve counts of defilement against the accused. Subsequently, they restructured the case, separating it into five distinct dockets, which encompassed a total of fifteen defilement charges and five attempted cases of defilement.

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What is particularly distressing about this case is that twelve victims initially came forward to report the horrifying incidents perpetrated by Ahmed Rashid, which had continued for an extended period. Moreover, as the legal proceedings unfolded, an additional four victims were confirmed to have experienced multiple instances of sexual penetration at the hands of the accused.During the course of the trial, Dr.

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Alhassan Mohammed Mubarak, a medical officer at the Wa Municipal Hospital, took the stand in court on August 23. In a solemn and emotional testimony, Dr. Mubarak verified the physical evidence of the assaults, further solidifying the case against the defendant. It was established that all the victims had suffered the loss of their hymens, underscoring the severity of the offenses committed by Ahmed

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Rashid.

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