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Court Reporter
A stranger who abused his welcome in a village in Seke where he had been housed by raping an 11-year-old girl was last week slapped with a five-year-jail term. Taurai Mukonorwi (21) had been staying with the girl’s grandmother after she took him in and looked after him since he had nowhere to go.
Mukonorwi denied six counts, three of rape and three others of unlawful entry when he appeared before Chitungwiza regional magistrate Ms Estere Chivasa.
Ms Chivasa found him guilty of one count of rape after a fully contested trial.
He was slapped with a nine-year jail term with four years of his sentence suspended for five years.
In his mitigation, Mukonorwi claimed that the girl’s grandmother (56) sexually abused him on several occasions during his stay.
Ms Chivasa advised Mukonorwi to report the matter to the police if he wished.
Prosecutor Mr Lovet Muringwa proved that Mukonorwi took advantage of the absence of the girl’s grandmother when she left for a funeral in Harare.
The incident took place on June 10 and at around 7pm when Mukonorwi propositioned the girl.
When the grandmother returned, she found evidence of assault and quizzed the girl who revealed the what had happened.
By law a girl under the age of 16 cannot consent to sexual relations and if under the age of 12 then the charge is always rape.
Online Reporter