18 years imprisonment for raping minor and threate...

18 years imprisonment for raping minor and threatening her with okapi knife

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Zim Now Writer

A 37-year-old man from Shurugwi was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment by Gweru Regional Magistrate Christopher Maturure for raping his 11-year-old niece and threatening to kill her with an okapi knife.

Zirume was convicted after a full trial.

He raped his niece, name withheld, in a bush on December 20, 2022, in Maumi Village under Chief Ndanga.

Prosecutor Talent Tadenyika told the court that Zirume went to look for crickets with the minor and her two siblings.

He ordered the two siblings to return home and attend to the goats.

He then produced a knife and threatened to stab his niece if she screamed or rejected his advances.

Zirume then carried the girl to a secluded area and raped her and instructed her not to reveal the matter to anyone.

The minor narrated the ordeal to her grandmother, who could not accompany her to file a police report.

The grandmother told her to wait and tell her grandfather when he returned home on Christmas day.

The grandfather then accompanied the minor to file a report at Donga Police Base where she was taken to Shurugwi District Hospital for medical examinations.

Zirume denied the charge during the trial and argued that he never went to look for crickets with the minor.

The two siblings testified in court.