Robbers rape, injure Zaka school teachers
By Water Mswazie
Three daring robbers allegedly took turns to rape a teacher at a Zaka school before they force-marched her to another school-about one kilometre away, while naked. The incident has put the security of female teachers across the province under the spotlight once again.
The suspects, two of whom have since been arrested, allegedly pounced on a teacher at Rumwanda Secondary School at around 2am on Tuesday and sexually abused her before robbing her of an undisclosed amount of cash and several mobile phones.
They allegedly forced the teacher and her maid to reveal their Ecocash PIN numbers before transferring cash into their Ecocash wallets after threatening them with catapults, axes and machetes.
The suspects also robbed one of the shops at the nearby Rumwanda business centre and got away with cash and groceries worth $250.
Masvingo Provincial Police spokesperson Inspector Charity Mazula yesterday confirmed the incident.
She said two of the suspects have since been arrested while another was still at large.
Inspector Mazula said the suspects also allegedly attacked two male teachers at Rumwanda Secondary who tried to rescue their female colleague after she and her maid had been raped.
The female teacher and her maid were seriously injured after they were allegedly attacked by machetes by the suspects.
Inspector Mazula said the suspects will appear in court soon.
Masvingo Provincial Education director Mr Zadius Chitiga yesterday said the affected teachers were now living in perpetual fear after the gruesome attack.
The ministry has since recommended counseling sessions for them. Mr Chitiga said the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education was disturbed by such incidents and appealed to the law enforcement agencies to be vigilant and track down the culprits.
“I received a report of robbery and assault, which occurred at Rumwanda Secondary and we recommended that the affected teachers undergo psychological counselling led by our trained counsellors. We have the best therapists,” said Mr Chitiga.
He urged other schools in the province to ensure that there was tight security around their premises to minimise the risk of similar incidents in future.
“I had the opportunity to meet some of the injured teachers and their condition is now stable. The incident is unfortunate and I urge the school authorities to ensure that there is tight security around the premises,” said Mr Chitiga.
This is not the first time that marauding gangs have raped female teachers in Zaka. The Herald
