Staff Reporter
GOKWE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A Gokwe court has jailed a 42-year-old man for 15 years for raping his 5th-grade stepdaughter, prosecutors said Monday.
The Gokwe Magistrates’ Court convicted the man of attacking the girl at his homestead on Sept. 13.
He lives in Gokwe South.
The National Prosecuting Authority did not name him or the child, because she is a minor.
“The girl was visiting her mother at the homestead that day,” prosecutors said.
“About 11 a.m., her mother sent her to an uncle’s house to play with other children while she attended church”.
Two hours later, the man followed the girl to the uncle’s house and called her back home, prosecutors said. She then went to bathe.
He followed her into the bathroom and began touching her inappropriately, the authorities said.
He then ordered her to lie down on a sack and raped her.
Afterwards, the man threatened to kill the girl if she told anyone, prosecutors said.
The crime came to light when the girl’s mother returned home about 5 p.m. and found her crying.
She subsequently told her mother what had happened.
Her mother reported the matter to police, and officers arrested the man. The court later convicted him.
The authority also condemned all acts of sexual violence, particularly those against children. It called such offences “a gross violation of human dignity.” It said they also breach “the fundamental right to live free from abuse and fear.”
Zimbabwe’s courts handled 3,940 rape-related cases in 2025, The Herald newspaper reported.
That was almost unchanged from 3,946 in 2024, according to Judicial Service Commission figures.
Rape carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
Meanwhile, police have warned that parents, siblings, uncles and other close relatives are among those who abuse children.
The sentence drew reaction on social media.
George Swarei wrote on Facebook that society must prevent abuse, not just condemn it after convictions.
He said society must also listen when children speak out and ensure each has “a safe place to call home.”
People can report suspected child sexual abuse at any police station or on Childline Zimbabwe’s free helpline, 116.
