A NKAYI man allegedly raped his 11-year-old niece, but her grandparents instructed her not to tell anyone and also warned the uncle not to repeat the offence for them not to report him to the police.
SILAS NKALA STAFF REPORTER
The girl was doing Grade Five at Gwelutshena Primary School at the time she was allegedly raped.
This was heard in the Bulawayo Regional Court yesterday when the 21-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the minor, appeared before magistrate Crispen Mberewere facing two counts of rape. He pleaded not guilty to the rape charges.
Prosecutor Trust Mudumo called the girl’s former teacher Sithandweyinkosi Sibanda who revealed the minor told them that her grandparents did not take action.
“The complainant approached me while in class at school after I had marked some exercise books in 2011,” she said.
“She told me that one day in 2010 she went to fetch water in the company of friends and while in the bush, they met her uncle who asked her to remain while others went ahead.
“She said he took her into the bush where he raped her.”
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Sibanda said the girl informed her that she reported the matter to her grandparents who just reprimanded her uncle and told him that if he did it again, they would get him arrested.
Sibanda said the teacher in charge reported the matter to the police.
Mudumo told the court that sometime in December 2010, the girl was at her grandparents’ homestead in Nkayi when her uncle asked her to accompany him to pick some wild fruits in the bush. While in the bush he gagged her mouth and allegedly raped her.
Sometime in July 2011, the girl went to fetch water and her uncle followed, grabbed and dragged her into the bush and allegedly raped her.
In August of the same year, the girl was coming from the river to fetch water when she met her uncle who ordered her to put down the water bucket and follow him into the bush where he allegedly raped her again.
The incident came to light when the girl told her teacher at school and she in turn informed the teacher in charge who reported the abuse to the police. On November 9 2011 the girl went to hospital after her uncle allegedly assaulted her and threatened to further assault her if she reported the matter to anyone.
The girl later told her grandparents about the matter and they confronted him over the rape and assault case.
But they just warned him that they would report him to the police if he repeated the offence. The magistrate remanded the case to April 24.
