Brighton Chiseva
ZAKA – Five female teachers at Danda Primary School were severely assaulted, robbed and one of them was raped when two assailants burgled into four houses during the night of February 16.
Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Charity Mazula confirmed the robbery and rape.
“We received a report in which five female teachers at Danda School in Zaka were robbed and one of them was raped.
“We urge schools to work with police constabularies in their communities so that they can receive improved protection. They also need to have WhatsApp groups where they can warn each other in case of are emergencies,” said Insp Mazula.
Sources who spoke to TellZim News said the assailants pounced at the school at around 02:00 hrs armed with an iron bar and a hoe handle that they used to force open the doors to the rooms of their victims.
The ruffians savagely assaulted their victims all over their bodies before robbing them of their valuables including cash, a laptop and cellphones.
TellZim News managed to speak some of the victims who said the woman who got raped was very traumatised and was admitted at Ndanga Hospital.
Other sources said one of the victims hid herself in a deep freezer when she noticed that her neighbours were under attack.
“After ransacking the house, they moved on to the following one where they found the frightened woman cowering in the freezer but did not rape her because she was in severe pain from a recent Caesarian operation. She however lost two phones to the robbers.
“Another victim was spared a rape ordeal because she managed to convince the thugs that she had an STI. We suspect it was a gang made up of more than two members,” said a source.
After robbing at the school, the same robbers proceeded to Danda business centre where they robbed a female shopkeeper and walked away with groceries and some cash.
Zaka North Member of Parliament (MP) Robson Mavenyengwa who rushed to the school after the attack, called upon rural schools to employ better security measures to protect female teachers.
“Schools should bear the expense of their security but we also call upon the police to find ways of improving the safety of rural schools. My heart is with the victims and we will work to make sure they are given the necessary counselling and any other support they need,” said Mavenyengwa.local
