…15- year-old victim reports matter despite out of court settlement
By Bright Zhou
A 31-year-old self-proclaimed church prophet from Gaza Village, Chief Nyashanu in Buhera on March 27, 2024, appeared before Masvingo Regional Magistrate Bishard Chineka for allegedly raping his girlfriend’s 15-year-old daughter.
Chineka remanded the accused person in custody for continuation of trial on April 3, 2024.
The state heard that on February 1, 2024, at around 2200 hours, the accused person who works as a herd boy and is a prophet in one of the white garment churches went to the complainant’s homestead to visit his girlfriend as usual.
Upon arrival, the accused person opened the closed kitchen hut door in which the complainant was sleeping with her sister’s two children.
He entered the hut and invited the three minors for a prayer session but they all refused and he is said to have prayed alone.
After he had finished praying, the accused person ate sadza and at around midnight he sneaked into the complainant’s blanket, covered her mouth with a cloth, and raped her.
The complainant screamed and her mother who was sleeping in her bedroom heard the noise and rushed to the hut where she found the accused person pulling his trousers up.
The complainant told her mother that she had been raped and her mother summoned some of her relatives that same night to deliberate on the matter.
They then resolved to let the accused go and not to report the matter as he had promised to pay with a beast and cash in monthly instalments.
The following day the complainant’s mother instructed the complainant to go to school. On her way to school, the complainant met her sister and told her that she had been raped and her mother was trying to protect the accused person who had promised to pay.
The complainant and her sister reported the matter to the police and the accused person was arrested that same day.
In his defense, the accused person said he did not rape the complainant but admitted to only fondling her breasts while she was in the blankets.
He further said he had a grudge against the complainant’s sister as he had bought a jacket from her after which she refused to give him the jacket despite having received the payment that’s why she influenced the complainant to report the matter.
