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Senior Court Reporter

A man living with disability was on Wednesday jailed for eight years after he admitted to raping his neighbour’s then six-year-old daughter sometime in 2015. 

Artmore Mushawatu (29) was initially jailed for 12 years when he appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mr Hoseah Mujaya charged with rape. 

Mr Mujaya set aside four years of the jail term for five years on condition that he does not commit a similar offence within that period. Mushawatu admitted to raping the girl when he initially appeared in court some six years ago. 

Mr Mujaya suspended his sentencing pending some medical examination to ascertain his fitness, which was raised in mitigation. 

Mushawatu then went for many years without returning to court with the medical affidavit chronicling his fitness which Mr Mujaya wanted to use before sentencing him. 

He returned on Wednesday with the medical results which saw him being slapped with an eight-year jail term. 

Mr Mujaya, in sentencing Mushawatu, said he did not waste the court’s time when he admitted to the offence. 

He said he took into consideration Mushawatu’s physical challenges. 

Mr Mujaya also said Mushawatu’s actions needed to be punished as he exposed the girl to sexually transmitted diseases. 

He said the girl would live a tormented life because of the sexual abuse at the hands of Mushawatu.