A Bulawayo family is still crying out for justice three years after their daughter, then a Grade 3 pupil, was allegedly raped by a teenage boy who is son of a police officer.
The alleged incident happened in Bulawayo’s Nkulumane high density suburb on July 16, 2022.
The victim’s parents and that of the accused stay in the same neighbourhood.
The victim’s father said his daughter had been playing outside when the then 14-year-old boy sexually assaulted her.
“My daughter was playing outside the house with other children when the accused removed her undergarments and raped her,” the father who cannot be named to protect the identity of the minor narrated to Southern Eye.
“The mother had gone to the fields.
“After the incident, our daughter ran to her mother and told her everything.”
The matter was initially reported at the Nketa nine police base before being transferred to Tshabalala police station where the accused‘s father works.
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The girl was referred to United Bulawayo Hospital (UBH).
The family paid for all related medical costs.
Now in Grade 6, the girl still suffers emotionally while the family alleges that authorities have failed to act.
“The case was reported,” the dejected father said.
“A prosecutor at Tregold Court was assigned, but nothing has happened since.
“We are being ignored because the accused is a police officer’s son.”
The family alleged that the justice system is shielding the accused, who was never arrested or formally charged.
They said attempts to get updates from the National Prosecution Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) have also been unsuccessful, and the case appears to have been quietly shelved.
“We are ordinary people and this is how the system treats us.
“If it had been our child who committed such a crime, they would be in prison right now,” the girl’s mother said.
A prosecutor named Mafu was reportedly handling the file, but the family claims they have received no information or updates for over two years.
NPAZ national spokesperson, Angeline Munyeriwa, has not responded to questions first sent to her a month ago.
Bulawayo police spokesperson, Nomalanga Msebele, also did not respond.
The family appealed to child rights organisations, legal aid groups and other bodies to intervene as a last resort so that justice is done.
“This is about more than just our child,” the father said.
“It is about a justice system that is failing children in Zimbabwe.
“We demand answers. We demand justice.”
