GWERU – A 51-year-old Chinese national appeared before the Gweru Magistrates’ Court on allegations of raping a 17-year-old colleague at a mine in Gweru.
The accused, whose name has not been disclosed, allegedly committed the crime on November 15, 2022, in his office at the mine.
According to the State’s case, the accused person, who was the complainant’s supervisor, allegedly raped the teenager on the floor in his office. The complainant, who was employed as a general worker at the time, was fired soon after the incident.
The matter came to light when the complainant discovered she was pregnant and confided in her mother about the alleged rape. The complainant gave birth to a baby girl in 2023.
A police report was made on June 13, 2024, leading to the arrest of the accused person. The matter was remanded to June 28, 2024, for further proceedings.
In another case, a 29-year-old man from Lower Gwelo has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping a 26-year-old woman in April this year. The accused person appeared before the Gweru Magistrates’ Court and was found guilty of the crime.
According to the prosecution, on April 17, 2024, at around 10 pm, the accused person entered the complainant’s homestead through an unlocked door and found her in her bedroom with her infant.
The complainant thought it was her husband entering the room and was not initially alarmed. However, the accused person threatened her with a machete and ordered her to pick up her infant and follow him.
The accused person force-marched the complainant to a nearby homestead, where he used a metal rod to gain entry. He then ordered the complainant to prepare a place for her infant to sleep and proceeded to rape her, assaulting her during the act.
The complainant managed to escape when the accused person fell asleep and sought refuge at a nearby homestead. A police report was made, leading to the arrest of the accused person.
The court heard that the accused person had no previous convictions and showed no remorse for his actions. The prosecution argued that the accused person’s actions were premeditated and violent, and that the sentence should reflect the severity of the crime.
In passing sentence, the magistrate noted that rape is a serious offense that violates the dignity and bodily integrity of the victim. The magistrate also took into account the accused person’s lack of remorse and the severity of the crime, and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
