Cousin, 13, of Tsholotsho 9-year mother sentenced ...

Cousin, 13, of Tsholotsho 9-year mother sentenced to 3 years for rape

The 13-year-old cousin of the Tsholotsho girl who got pregnant at 9 years has been found guilty of rape and sentenced to three years in prison.

The teen will, however, serve no time after Bulawayo regional magistrate Joseph Mabeza and fully suspended the sentence when the teen appeared before him last week.

The prosecutor presented that in February last year, the 9-year-old girl and her two sisters visited their grandfather overnight.

The girls and the boy slept together in the kitchen hut with the boy on his own side of the fireplace.

During the night the boy raped the 9-year-old once then returned to his own bedding.

The girl did not tell anyone about the incident.

The girl’s mother noticed her daughter’s bulging stomach in August last year and took her to Tsholotsho District Hospital where it was discovered that the girl was seven months' pregnant.

The mother reported the matter to the police, but the girl would not say who had raped her.

The girl’s father was taken into police custody while she was placed with the Social Welfare Development for counselling and safety.

https://zimbabwenow.co.zw/articles/1490/father-of-9-year-old-tsholotsho-mother-still-in-custody-to-appear-in-court-this-week

On November 14 the girl delivered a female infant through caesarean operation at United Bulawayo Hospital.

https://zimbabwenow.co.zw/articles/1137/nine-year-old-rape-victim-delivers-by-c-section

In an interview on November 23 the girl finally named the cousin as the rapist.

Buccal Swabs for DNA collected from the boy at Tsholotsho Hospital and tested at the National University of Science and Technology positively identified him as the infant’s biological father.