The Sunday News
Belinda Moyo, Sunday News Reporter
A 36-YEAR–OLD man from Karoi in Mashonaland West will spend the next 25 years behind bars after he was convicted of raping his 11-year-old niece and infecting her with HIV.
The man, who cannot be named for ethical reasons from Katswere Village under chief Dandoma appeared before Tredgold regional magistrate Mr Joseph Mabeza and pleaded guilty to contravening Section 65 (1) (a) of Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 09:23 — rape and of deliberately infecting the minor with HIV.
The accused was found guilty of four counts of rape and sentenced to an effective imprisonment of 15 years for rape and another 10 years for deliberately infecting her with HIV.
Prosecuting Mr Simbarashe Manyiwa said on an unknown date in 2016 during the day and in Bulawayo the man followed his niece who was walking alone on her way from school and asked her why she was walking alone and she told him that others were at school.
He advised her that he wanted to tell her something that she should keep as her secret until she dies, he then threatened to stab her with a knife if she does reveal the secret. The court heard that the accused then asked his niece to accompany him to his house.
“The accused asked his niece to follow him to his house and said he will escort her to her house later since she was walking alone. The two proceeded to the accused’s house, upon arrival the accused took a sheet and spread it on the floor and ordered the juvenile to lie down and he raped her. The juvenile cried and insisted that she wanted to go home but the accused threatened to stab and handcuff her if she continued making noise,” said Mr Manyiwa.
The court heard again that on another occasion, the man proceeded to the juvenile’s house and asked her to come and collect some sugar cane at his house.
“In another incident the accused proceeded to his niece’s homestead and asked her to come and collect sugar-cane. She went to the man’s house in the company of her two cousins. The man ordered his niece’s cousins to go to the fields to cut sugar-cane however, he instructed his niece to stay behind and set fire. He dragged her to his house and laid her on the ground, raped her and threatened to stab and handcuff her if she told anyone,” added Mr Manyiwa.
According to the state outline the man raped the juvenile on four different occasions without protection.
The matter came to light when the juvenile fell ill and her mother took her to hospital and she tested HIV-positive.
