A Chipinge man was on Wednesday sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for raping his 10-year-old daughter.
The man (name withheld to protect the identity of the girl) is from Maadza Village under Chief Musikavanhu.
He appeared before Chipinge regional magistrate, Noel Mupeiwa facing rape charges.
The man pleaded not guilty but was convicted due to overwhelming evidence.
The court heard that sometime in May, the girl was seen roaming around Maronga Business Centre by a pastor with Pentecostal Assemblies of Zimbabwe (PAOZ), Pastor Elliot Mangwayana.
Magwayana and his wife took custody of the child after learning that her father had neglected her after he separated from the girl’s mother.
The girl stayed with Pastor Mangwayana’s family until last month when the father visited her at the pastor’s home. Prosecutor, Themba Dhliwayo, told the court:
On November 2, the man approached Pastor Mangwayana’s wife, Mrs Batsirai Mashava-Mangwayana requesting to see his daughter.
He told Mrs Mangwayana that he wanted to buy fish for her daughter at a business centre in Chibuwe.
The father told Mrs Mangwayana that he would return the child on the same day.
On their way to the shopping centre, they passed through a forest and the father raped his daughter once.
The complainant cried for help, but the father threatened her with death.
After raping his daughter, the father abandoned the journey to the business centre and instead, took the girl to his homestead and raped her again during the night. Sad Dhliwayo:
The man raped the complainant again at his homestead. On November 3, the man decided to return the child to Pastor Mangwayana’s home in Maronga area. On their way, the man raped the girl again.
The matter came to light when Mrs Mangwayana asked the girl why she failed to return the previous day.
The girl revealed everything and she was escorted to make a report at Chibuwe Police Post. | The Manica Post