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CHIREDZI – A 21-year-old headboy who was facing charges of raping his neighbour could not think of any other way to escape jail sentence than to fake his age.
Shepherd Moyo of Mapindani Village, Chief Tshovani in Chiredzi, amused people at the court when he boldly told the court that he was only 14-years-old when Regional Magistrate Judith Zuyu was about to deliver sentence.
Moyo told the court that he was only fourteen years and had no birth certificate or a national identity card.
The court was later adjourned in a bid to wait for Moyo’s dental medical tests to identify the latter’s age.
The court sentenced Moyo to 15 years imprisonment after the tests showed that he was 21 years old but he will serve an effective 12 years imprisonment after three years were suspended on condition of good behaviour.
The court heard that on April 10 this year, Moyo’s female neighbour confronted that Moyo’s herd had got into his maize filed and destroyed some crops.
The court also heard that during the confrontation, Moyo attacked the woman with stones before driving his cattle away.
The next day the cattle escaped back to the field and grazed more maize crop and the complainant drove the cattle to Moyo who was hiding a few metres from the fields.
He then went to meet the woman whom he then grabbed and took down the stream where he raped her.
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