Neighbour in court for rape

News
A MATAGA man in Mberengwa who allegedly raped and impregnated a mentally challenged 17-year-old girl from his village appeared in the Zvishavane Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

A MATAGA man in Mberengwa who allegedly raped and impregnated a mentally challenged 17-year-old girl from his village appeared in the Zvishavane Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

OWN CORRESPONDENT

Zachariah Shumba (41) of Masaga village under Chief Nyamhondo was remanded in custody to September 8. It was the State’s case that on an unknown date in January this year, Shumba approached the juvenile at Mutorahuku River where she was fetching water and allegedly dragged her into a bush and raped her knowing that she could not scream for help because of her mental disability.

He threatened to thoroughly beat the girl up if she told anyone about the rape. Sometime in February, Shumba encountered the girl fetching firewood at round sunset and again raped her once and threatened to kill her if she informed anyone.

In May, the girl’s aunt suspected that something was wrong and examined the girl and discovered that she was pregnant. The aunt interrogated the girl and she narrated her ordeal at the hands of Shumba.

The girl’s relatives made a report at Mataga Police Station, leading to Shumba’s arrest. The girl was examined at Msume Hospital and a medical report compiled confirmed that she was raped.