Under 5 Card Can Prove Age – Court!

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Under 5 Card Can Prove Age – Court!
By Dickson Jere
A sick girl went for treatment at Lusangazi Health Centre where she was scheduled for an injection. She found the medical officer was attending to other patients who informed her to wait. When everyone had left, he called her in the treatment room where he administered the injection and gave her promethazine tablets. She subsequently became weak and the medical officer took advantage of the situation and raped her.
The girl lost her consciousness. He then put her on a drip to recover. Thereafter, he allowed her to go home when she woke up. She cried all the way as she walked back home where she reported the incident.
The matter was reported to the police and immediately the medical practitioner was arrested, charged with defilement and subsequent tried by Magistrate Court. He was found guilty and committed to High Court for sentencing. The Judge gave him 15 years imprisonment with hard labor.
Dissatisfied, he appealed to the Court of Appeal, where he argued, among other grounds, that the prosecution failed to prove the age of the girl that she was under 16 years. He, therefore, asked the Court to acquit him because age of the girl was not proved.
Three Judges heard the appeal and determined thus;
“The age of the prosecutrix on a charge of defilement is crucial ingredient which needs to be proved,” the Judges noted.
The Judges said the prosecution must adduce evidence that the girl was under 16 years old in defilement cases. And that must be proved by one of the parents or by whatever other best evidence available.
“The record of appeal shows that the prosecutrix mother testified that she was born on 12th May 2008 and produced a copy of her under five card to support this evidence,” the Judges observed.
“Although no explanation was tendered on the whereabouts of the original, our view is that it was best evidence available,” the Judges said.
The Court noted that when the under five card was presented, the medical practitioner through his lawyers did not even object to the production of the copy of the card.
“The Appellant accepted that the prosecutrix was 14 years old,” the Judges noted.
“The trial Court can therefore not be faulted for relying on it,” the Court said and threw out the appeal and upheld the 15 years imprisonment.
Case citation – Mabvuto Phiri v The People – Appeal 64/2024 and Judgement passed last week on 15th August 2025.
Lecture Notes;
1. This is good holding by the Courts. Under five Cards or Birth Records are good evidence for proving age in the absence of Birth Certificates. The scientific proof in form of MRI can be difficult to obtain especially in rural parts of the country. Therefore, the Court have left the proof to “whatever best evidence available” which may not necessarily be documents.
2. Punishment for people like medical personnel must be very stiff for committing such atrocities. The girl was vulnerable as she sought medical treatment but only to be abused by the very person who is supposed to provide safety for her.

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