A 30-year-old man from the Chief Nyakunhuwa area in Zaka District, Masvingo Province, has been sentenced to a total of 60 years in prison by the Chiredzi Magistrates’ Court on 4 counts of rape.
According to the details of the case released by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on Thursday, June 27, the accused man raped a 13-year-old girl on several occasions and a 42-year-old woman once.
The first incident occurred in April 2021, when the accused man found the 13-year-old girl, a Grade 7 student, fetching firewood in a bush near their homestead.
He knocked down the firewood she was carrying, tripped her to the ground, and raped her at knifepoint. The girl did not tell anyone about this incident.
In June 2021, the accused man found the same 13-year-old girl at home, threatened her with a knife, and raped her.
The girl informed her aunt, who then informed the girl’s grandmother, but the grandmother ordered them not to reveal the matter to anyone.
The accused man went on to rape the girl two more times.
It was not until August 2023, when the girl’s mother came from Harare and the girl confided in her, that a police report was finally made.
In September 2021, the accused man also raped a 42-year-old woman who was on her way back from the borehole.
He grabbed her from behind, threatened her with a knife, and raped her.
The National Prosecuting Authority secured the convictions, and the accused man was sentenced to 15 years on each count, with 30 years suspended. He will effectively serve a 30-year prison sentence.
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