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Jail

Tendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter
A Harare man who was taken in by his brother’s friend following the death of their parents has raped the Good Samaritan’s six-year-old daughter, and will spend an effective 22 years in jail for the offence.

The 30-year-old man (name withheld to protect the victim) pleaded guilty to two counts of rape when he appeared before magistrate Ms Lucy Mungwari.

He shared the same bedroom with the minor, together with her little brothers. The girl would sleep on her own bed while the rapist shared the bed with the girl’s brothers.

After he was caught red-handed one night by the girl’s mother, the minor narrated to her parents how her “uncle” had been raping her on various occasions.

The man was charged with two counts of rape for which he was sentenced to 27 years, but five were set aside on condition of good behaviour. In mitigation, the rapist pleaded for the court’s leniency and blamed evil spirits for his actions. He further asked for forgiveness from the victim and her parents.

In aggravation, the prosecutor Mr Ephraim Zinyandu had no kind words for the rapist, whom he said bit the hand that fed him. Mr Zinyandu said the convict exposed the minor to sexually transmitted diseases. On dates unknown to Mr Zinyandu, but sometime last year when the complainant was doing ECD, she came back home from school at around midday and found the convicted person alone.

He invited the complainant to the living room to watch cartoons with him and she complied. When she sat on the sofa, he went to where she was seated and raped her.

After the act, he threatened to assault her if she revealed the abuse to anyone. He repeated the act on several occasions during the night when the minor’s brothers would have fallen asleep.