Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu [email protected]
A FILABUSI domestic worker has been sentenced to an effective 15 years in prison for raping his employer’s 15-year-old granddaughter.
Bekithemba Dube (32) was convicted of rape by Gwanda regional magistrate Ms Sithembiso Ndebele.
Prosecuting, Mr Ngonidzashe Shumba told the court that the offence occurred in July when Dube invited the girl into his bedroom and raped her.
The court heard that the girl had been playing outside with her friends while her grandmother was away, leaving her in Dube’s care.
Mr Shumba said Dube proposed a romantic relationship with the girl, but she refused. He proceeded to rape her and threatened to kill her if she disclosed what had happened.
“The accused person then proposed love to the complainant, but she refused. He then raped the complainant and threatened to kill her if she reported the matter to anyone,” said Mr Shumba.
The matter came to light the following day when the girl told her grandmother that she was experiencing pain in her private parts. She subsequently disclosed that Dube had raped her, leading to a police report and his arrest.
In his defence, Dube denied the charge, claiming that the girl had consented to sexual intercourse because they were in a relationship. He also claimed that he believed she was 18 years old.
However, in her in-camera testimony, the girl denied being in a relationship with Dube or consenting to sexual intercourse. She also rejected the claim that she had misrepresented her age, telling the court that Dube had proposed love to her on several occasions but she had turned him down.
Under Zimbabwean law, a child’s age is crucial to determining criminal liability in sexual offences involving minors. A child’s alleged consent does not provide a defence to rape where the law does not recognise that consent.
