A Ruwa man who would tell his niece it was their tradition that the two sleep together before sexually assaulting the victim has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars.
The man, 34, (name withheld) is now serving time behind bars after being convicted of rape charges.
He appeared before Harare regional magistrate Jessy Kufa who slammed his conduct saying he had breached the trust bestowed on him by the victim who regarded him as a father figure.
“Offences of this nature are on the rise and a message ought to be sent out there that our courts do not tolerate such conduct.
“The convicted person has left an indelible mark on the complainant’s life and exposed her to the risks of contracting sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies,” Kufa said.
Circumstances are that in September last year the man’s wife travelled and left the girl in his custody.
He returned home drunk that night and found the victim already sleeping and proceeded to her bedroom.
When he arrived in the room, the victim awoke and he told her that he wanted to help with her school work but she insisted that it was too late.
The uncle forcibly tried to remove the girl’s clothes but failed and lowered his underwear but she fought and he left.
On the second incident, the rapist’s wife was away again and around 10pm he arrived home and began telling the victim about bedroom issues he was having with his wife.
He told her that it was part of their tradition that uncles sleep with their nieces before they get married.
The girl told him to talk to his wife about it and not involve her but the uncle began fondling and caressing before raping her on the sofa.
On December 31, the uncle went to the girl’s bedroom at night again and dragged her to his room.
She tried to scream but no one came to her rescue.
The uncle threw her onto his bed and pinned her legs before raping her without protection.
The following morning the girl went to a clinic and advised a nurse who attended to her about the abuse.
She was examined and assisted to file a police report. Daily News.
