A 32-YEAR-OLD man of Kanyama township has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment with hard labour for causing the death of his two year-old daughter, who hit her head on the ground after he negligently lifted her from where she was.

Lusaka High Court Judge William Mweemba, who sentenced Luckson Manda, said the convict’s deceased child was only two years-old and a helpless victim.

Manda, who was charged with manslaughter, was angered when his daughter started crying continuously and he started beating her.

After beating her, the convict negligently lifted her from where she was, but the child fell down, hitting her head on the ground.

Judge Mweemba convicted Manda on December 8 this year after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

Manda was initially charged with murder, which was reduced to manslaughter.

In mitigation, Manda, through his lawyer from Legal Aid, Jonas Matende, said he was very remorseful for having caused the death of his daughter.

He lamented that it was a burden he will have to carry the rest of his life especially that the deceased was his only child.

But when the matter came up for sentencing yesterday, Justice Mweemba said he had considered Manda’s mitigation, particularly that he was a first offender entitled to leniency and that he was very remorseful for having caused the death of his own child.

He said he had also considered the mitigation that the convict had readily pleaded guilty thereby saved the Court’s time.

Judge Mweemba, however, said he had noted from the statement of facts a number of aggravating factors.

He said the deceased was the convict’s two-year-old child and a helpless victim.

Judge Mweemba said that the convict negligently lifted the child and threw her up, but failed to catch her and she fell down hitting her head on the ground.

He said the offence of manslaughter attracted a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

He said owing to the aggravating factors, he sentenced Manda to 12 years’ imprisonment with hard labour effective July 13, 2020.

“The convict is at liberty to appeal to the Court of Appeal,” Judge Mweemba ruled.

Facts in this matter were that on July 10, this year around 12:00 hours, Manda was at home with his two year-old daughter when she started crying continuously.

This angered Manda and he started beating the child and thereafter negligently lifted her from where she was and she fell down hitting her head on the ground.

She started bleeding from the nose and mouth and was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

A post-mortem was conducted and the cause of death was brain haemorrhage due to fatal blunt force head injury.