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The Rhodesia Herald,

June 16, 1979

SIX district assistants are in the dock at the Salisbury Regional Court, charged with raping six women in the Enkeldoorn area between March 25 and 28.

They have pleaded not guilty. They admit to having had intercourse with the women but claim that it was with the women’s consent.

The six are Simon Dzingai, Walter Bhake, Mathew Dube, Wilbert Mutandi, Onias Paradzayi, and Clever Chawatama.

The State’s case, outlined by the prosecutor Miss Shireen Ahmed, is that the six men formed an Internal Affairs patrol searching the Narira TTL for a herd of cattle that had been stolen from an adjoining farming area.

They took men, women, and children aside for questioning. During the night, it was alleged, that the men and women were separated.

The six DAs took the six complainants from their quarters and paired off with them. Each, it is alleged, was raped over the evening.

The women said the men were armed with rifles and they feared if they refused their demands they will be shot.

The case is being heard by Mr GV Schaap.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

• Rape is a serious crime that is on the rise and should not be condoned as it has far-reaching effects on the victims and their families.
• There is need for stiffer custodial sentences for perpetrators of rape that will act as a deterrent measure.
• Women need to be protected from situations that put them in vulnerable positions where they can be taken advantage of.
• There is need for continuous awareness on rape and encouraging the victims to speak out and report such instances as early as possible so that the perpetrators are brought to book.
• There is also need to set up more support structures for victims of rape and ensuring that law enforcement officers assigned to handle such cases are properly trained to do so, as there have been instances where victims have been intimidated from reporting their cases due to the way they had been treated, resulting in the introduction of victim friendly courts.