The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC acid tests (DNA) that were conducted to determine the paternity of the child born to the nine-year old Tsholotsho minor have established that the father of the child is the girl’s 13-year-old cousin.
This was revealed in a statement by the police national spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirms that the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) results obtained from National University of Science and Technology (Nust) on 25 November 2022, in connection with the paternity of the nine-year-old girl’s child have established that the victim’s cousin brother (13) is the father of the child,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi
He said the two would now be counselled by the police’s Victim Friendly Unit.
“The nine-year-old complainant and the suspect will now receive the appropriate counselling from the Police’s Victim Friendly Unit (VFU). The police is now working with other relevant arms of the Government to ensure that the due processes of the law are followed,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
This comes after DNA test exonerated the father of the nine-year-old who was the prime suspect in the matter.
However, medical experts said the tests only proved that he was not the father, as they were only done to prove the newborn child’s paternity.
The father to the nine-year-old was taken into police custody on 29 August when it was discovered that the minor was pregnant.
Following the minor’s failure to divulge the name of the person who raped her, the State resorted to using DNA tests to determine if the man was indeed the father of the baby that was born a few weeks ago.
The Nust Applied Genetic Testing Centre offered to do the testing for free as part of giving back to the community.
