By Tendai Makaripe
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Courts in Chinhoyi and Mutare have jailed two men in separate rape cases involving girls aged 8 and 16, the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe said.
The Chinhoyi Magistrates’ Court sentenced a 47-year-old man to 17 years in prison, while the Mutare Magistrates’ Court sentenced a 54-year-old man to 15 years.
Both men lived near the children.
Prosecutors said each offender used food and threats to discourage the girls from disclosing the abuse.
Chinhoyi court gives man 17-year sentence
The Chinhoyi Magistrates’ Court sentenced a 47-year-old security guard to 17 years in prison after finding him guilty of raping his 8-year-old neighbour.
The NPA said the Grade 1 learner visited the man’s house at Gwebi Wood Farm Compound in Nyabira on June 8.
The man locked the door, undressed the child and sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said.
He later gave her biscuits and warned her against telling anyone.
The child’s mother saw her leaving the man’s house and questioned her.
“The matter came to light when the victim’s mother spotted her leaving the offender’s house,” the NPA said.
The child initially told her parents that she had slept under blankets.
However, further conversations with her parents led her to disclose the abuse.
Her parents reported the case to the Zimbabwe Republic Police and took her to Parirenyatwa Hospital for a medical examination.
Police arrested the man, and prosecutors brought the case before the Chinhoyi Magistrates’ Court.
Mutare court sentences neighbour to 15 years
The Mutare Magistrates’ Court sentenced a 54-year-old man to 15 years in prison after finding him guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl with an intellectual disability.
The teenager met the man, her neighbour, while she walked home along a footpath in January, the NPA said.
The man forced her into nearby vegetation and sexually assaulted her. He later gave her a packet of snacks and threatened to harm her if she reported the attack.
Later that month, the man followed the teenager as she walked to the fields and attacked her again, prosecutors said.
The girl’s mother later noticed that her daughter no longer used sanitary pads and asked her about the change.
“The victim disclosed the ordeal to her mother,” the NPA said.
Her mother reported the case to the police, who arrested the neighbour.
The NPA said it would continue to pursue people who commit sexual violence against children and hold them accountable.
Children’s Voices withheld details that could identify the two girls.
