Samukelisiwe Ngwenyama

GWERU – Love Trust Zimbabwe is implementing a project aimed at assisting poor rural school girls to remain in class during their periods by availing free sanitary wear to them.
Over the last school term, the Gweru community-based humanitarian organisation assisted 600 female pupils to get sanitary pads and plans are being made to expand the project next term.
The organisation has also distributed bicycles to a number of pupils at Chiwundura Secondary School who have to travel several kilometres to school every day and has also assisted others with stationary.
Love Trust Zimbabwe director Ian Mathole said the organisation was concerned with the general welfare of pupils in poor communities, and wanted to give them not only emergency aid but life skills too.
“We want to lessen the problems that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds encounter daily in their desire to get an education. We are particularly worried that basic items like sanitary wear are not affordable for most rural girls and they are missing school because of that,” said Mathole.
He also revealed that the organisation had run a successful project called ‘Back to School’ which focused on following young school dropouts and giving them the necessary support so that they could go back to school.
“We are also forming active support groups to provide the backing that is needed by beneficiaries. We thank the Ministry of Education, Nac (National Aids Council) and other individuals for supporting us,” said Mathole.local

Elliot Jinjika

CHIVHU – A 32-year-old man from Dziva village under Chief Nyoka in Furtherstone was recently slapped with 15 years jail time for raping a 15-year-old speech-impaired girl.
Magistrate Fadzai Mtombeni found Knowledge Dziva guilty of rape after the State presented evidence that on April 14, 2017, the suspect visited the complainant’s homestead and shared traditional beer with the grandfather’s girl who is blind and deaf due to old age.
Dziva took advantage of the old man who was quickly getting drunk and dragged the girl to the main house where he raped her on a sofa.
However, a villager who had seen Dziva dragging the girl to the main house, alerted other villagers who then gathered around the house, forcing Dziva to come out of the house where he was apprehended.
After apprehending the rapist, the villagers however set him free but only for him to be arrested on May 13 by a Constable Mafaindi who had received a tip-off.
Reasons as to why the villagers did not take appropriate action after apprehending Dziva were not clear but State witnesses revealed that he was caught red handed raping the girl.
Nicholas Mabvongodze appeared for the State.local

CHIVHU – Magistrate Fadzai Mtombeni last week sentenced an 18-year-old man from Mudzvova village under Chief Mashayamombe to eight years imprisonment for sodomising a 38-year-old married woman.
The State,aled by Nicholas Mabvongodze found out that on the night of July 4, 2017, the woman retired to bed with her three children but did not lock the door since her husband was not yet home.
Mudzvova then entered the bedroom, pretending to be her husband and whispering that he wanted to have sex.
The woman, despite not having noticed that the man was not her husband, refused but the intruder insisted.
He then took the children from the floor and put them on the bed so that he could use the floor with her. Mudzova then forced his manhood into the woman’s anus and abused her.
The following morning, the woman asked her husband why he had chosen anal sex, but was shocked when he told her that he was not around the whole night.
She then described to her husband the clothes that the intruder wore and he suspected Mudzvova whom he confronted and got a confession.local