95-year-old acquitted of rape

Sukoluhle Ndlovu .
RAPE? Where is the proof?

Those could be the words of a nonagenarian from Zvishavane acquitted after the alleged victimaï¿½ï¿½s mother failed to provide evidence to the court.

Kenias Zvidza Mazvihwa (95) of 39 Karisen Compound Zvishavane appeared before Gweru regional magistrate Morgan Nemadire facing two counts of rape.

In his defence he said:

aï¿½?I am too old and I can barely stand, how then would I commit such a horrible act?aï¿½? he said adding that: aï¿½?I see the two girls as my own granddaughters and they help me a lot with the house chores,aï¿½? he said.

Prosecutor Kelvin Guvheya told the court that on a date not known but during the period between August 2014 and October 2015, Mazvihwa would call the two complainants to his bedroom hut each time they visited him.

He would allegedly have sex with them without their consent. After the ordeal, he would give them a packet of maputi and a stumbo sweet. The matter only came into light when the complainantsaï¿½ï¿½ mother was bathing her daughters.

She noticed that they had developed warts on their genitals, and they narrated the whole ordeal to her.

However, the matter hit a brickwall after Gweru magistrate Morgan Nemadire said he could not convict Mazvihwa due to lack of evidence.

aï¿½?This court has found you not guilty due to lack of evidence, you are therefore acquitted,aï¿½? said Nemadire.