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Tanyaradzwa Mujati
Post Reporter
A MUTARE man has been slapped with a 16-year jail sentence for raping and deflowering his cousin.
Thirty-year-old Tinotenda Chademana appeared before Mutare provincial magistrate, Mr Richard Ramaboa, for raping his 18-year-old cousin.
Ms Nomatemba Sayi prosecuted.
Chademana pleaded not guilty and insisted that his cousin consented to the act.
He claimed that his cousin caressed his private parts from under the table as the family was having dinner.
“She is the one who made advances to me.
“She caressed my private parts from under the table while everyone was having dinner.
“I proceeded to her room after dinner and she did not resist when we became intimate.
“I was surprised when my mother confronted me around midnight that same night saying I had raped my cousin.
“The complainant is framing me. Yes, we were intimate, but she consented to everything.
“She is only feeling guilty because we are related and she wants to protect her image by coming up with all these allegations against me,” said Chademana.
The court heard that at the time of the commission of the crime, the complainant was temporarily staying at the Chademana residence as her own family’s house was undergoing some renovations.
The complainant said the accused came to her room three times under the pretence that he was looking for something.
When he realised that she was about to fall sleep, he then raped her.
“He came into the room I was using three times, pretending to be looking for something.
“I could not stop him from getting into the room as I was using his room and I was just a visitor there,” she said.
“He waited until everyone was asleep and came into the room for the third time and raped me. I screamed for help, but Gogo Chademana might have been asleep and she did not hear any of my screams.
“After raping me, Tinotenda left the room and I called my sister and told her what had happened.
“She told me to tell Gogo Chademana what had happened that very night.
“My sister also instructed me not to bath or change the clothes that I was putting on.
“We went and reported the case at the nearest police station the following morning,” said the complainant.
Ms Sayi said the medical report proved that the teenager was raped, adding that she was a virgin when the incident occurred.
In cross-examination, Ms Sayi asked Chademana why he had texted the complainant asking her to stop crying as this would wake up their grandmother.
She said Chademana also texted the teen’s sister telling her that he had committed a serious offence.
In response, Chademana said: “I texted her elder sister because I was feeling bad after being intimate with my cousin.
“In the past l have also slept with her (the elder sister) so I wanted to apologise before the matter got out of hand.”
Despite his claims of innocence, Mr Ramaboa found Chademana guilty of rape and sentenced him to 16 years’ imprisonment, with two years being suspended on condition of good behaviour.
Online Reporter