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Munyaradzi Musiiwa Midlands Correspondent
A 35-year-old self-styled Gokwe prophet has been jailed for 40 years for raping and infecting his 16-year-old stepdaughter with a sexually transmitted disease.The man pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape when he appeared before Gokwe-Kwekwe regional magistrate Mr Amos Mbobo.
He was convicted on overwhelming evidence and sentenced to 50 years. The magistrate suspended 10 years on condition of good behaviour.
The court heard that in February and March last year, the man – who was married to the victim’s mother – raped his stepdaughter on four occasions while purporting to be praying for her.
The court heard that the man was separated from the girl’s mother. The girl was left in his custody when the mother went to seek advice from her relatives over their marriage problems.
On a date unknown to the prosecutor, the man asked the complainant to accompany him to a bush to pray. He asked her to carry a bucket of “holy water” so that she would take a bath to remove “evil spirits” behind a string of misfortunes bedevilling their family.
When the two got to the bush, he told her to strip and bath while he “prayed” for her. He instructed the complainant to lie on her back and then he raped her once.
The girl tried to resist but her stepfather struck her with a small axe in the right eye and she sustained a deep cut. On three other occasions he used the same method to rape the girl, threatening her with death if she told anyone of the abuse.
However, the girl reported the matter to her mother leading to the man’s arrest. Mr Robert Ndlala prosecuted.
Online Reporter