adminFairness Moyana Sunday News Correspondent THE community of Dete is reeling in shock and is calling for justice after a 36-year-old father from the area raped his four-year-old daughter who had come to spend the weekend with him. The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, was not asked to plead when he made an initial appearance before regional magistrate Mr Dambudzo Malunga on Monday, facing a charge of contravening Section 65 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act chapter 9:23 (rape). However, the trial which had to be moved to 8 September to allow the minor time to settle in after she refused to open up on what had transpired on that fateful day.
According to the State led by Mr Tawanda Sigauke, on 28 June the child was brought to the accused’s home by a relative to spend the weekend with her father. Later that night, the accused raped her once. He went on to order her not to tell anyone, saying it was their “little secret” which they needed to guard. On 30 June at around 2pm the accused sent his daughter to school where she is doing Grade Zero and told her to go back to her grandmother in whose custody she had been left.
The matter came to light when the relative who had dropped her off at her father’s house noticed stains of blood on her underwear while bathing her. The girl revealed what had happened before the shocked woman made a report to police in Dete, leading to the accused’s arrest. T
he State submitted a medical report as part of the evidence in the case which has captured the attention of local children’s rights groups. Recently, police launched a massive an anti-sexual abuse campaign around the country to create awareness on combating sex crimes, following an increase in such cases involving mostly juveniles and women. Members of the community were advised to desist from trusting any man with their children as there was an increase in cases of sexual abuse by people known to the victims.
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