Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya-Beitbridge Bureau
A 21-YEAR-OLD herdboy from the Zezani area in Beitbridge has been sentenced to an effective 12 months in prison for attempting to rape his employer’s 14-year-old granddaughter.
Happiness Mashanda was convicted after making several attempts to be intimate with the complainant in December last year.
He faced charges of attempted rape and indecent assault when he appeared before Beitbridge resident magistrate Mr Takudzwa Gwazemba on yesterday.
Prosecutor Mr Ronald Mugwagwa presented the case, stating that Mashanda was employed as a herdboy by the complainant’s grandmother.
The court heard that in December, Mashanda encountered the Form 2 girl while she was in the house and attempted to kiss her, offering R20 for her compliance, but she refused.
On another occasion, while she was cleaning a room, Mashanda allegedly grabbed her waist from behind. The complainant resisted and pushed him away. The situation escalated on December 31, when the complainant went to bed around midnight.
She later recounted her ordeal to her aunt, who immediately reported the incident to the police. Officers swiftly apprehended Mashanda.
