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Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
A GOKWE based lawyer has been caged 18-years of raping his best friend’s 4-year-old daughter. Mike Mudara (34), who was employed by the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, was convicted by Gokwe Regional Magistrate Mr Lungile Ndlovu and sentenced to an effective 18-year sentence.
According to court papers, sometime early last year, the child’s father left her in Mudara’s custody when he went to seek medical attention. “The accused person’s friend, who is father to the juvenile, was involved in a physical brawl with an unknown man and went to seek medical attention. He then left the juvenile in the care of the accused person,” the court heard.
Mudara took advantage and raped the girl after telling her he was applying some medicine onto her privates. He threatened to beat her up if she told her father. The matter however came to light when the complainants’ aunt noticed that something was wrong with the child as she was continuously scratching her private parts. She told the aunt about the incident leading to his arrest.
Ms Melisa Makombe represented the State. Meanwhile, the National Prosecuting authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) has condemned the offence and called for a stiffer penalty against the disgraced lawyer.
“The NPAZ aggravated for a stiff penalty as the accused person is an employee in the justice delivery sector who knows better about the protection of children and their rights,” the NPAZ said in a statement.
The development comes at a time when the country is grappling with cases of child marriages and sexual abuse of minors. Government and other lobby groups have been calling for stiffer penalties for perpetrators as the country seeks to put an end to the scourge.
derick.khumalo