HIV-positive rapist gets 18 years

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A FILABUSI man who raped his niece was handed an 18-year jail term by Gwanda regional magistrate Joseph Mabeza yesterday.

A FILABUSI man who raped his niece was handed an 18-year jail term by Gwanda regional magistrate Joseph Mabeza yesterday.

PEPETUAL PHIRI OWN CORRESPONDENT

Witness Vundla (29) from the Skuta area had pleaded not guilty to rape but he was convicted of raping his 16-year-old niece.

Regional prosecutor Johannes Tlou told the court that on January 6 this year, the girl went to the fields leaving her two-year-old brother asleep.

When she returned, she found Vundla in the kitchen and greeted him before attending to her baby brother.

Vundla allegedly followed the girl to the bedroom and grabbed her and raped her while she was screaming.

Vundla warned the girl not to disclose the rape to anyone.

The girl’s aunt found her crying and when asked about what the problem was, she did not respond.

The matter only came to light when she phoned her grandmother and told her what had happened. Mabeza told Vundla that what aggravated his offence was that the complainant was his niece.

“The complainant looked up to you as an uncle, but you betrayed her trust in you. More so, rape traumatises the victim mentally and physically and it exposes the victim to chances of contracting HIV and STIs (sexually transmitted infections),” Mabeza said.