Online Reporter
Kimberley Chitambara, [email protected]
A 70-year-old man from New Lobengula suburb in Bulawayo has been sentenced to 42 years in jail for three counts of rape and indecent assault involving three juvenile girls from his neighbourhood.
The man appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate, Mr Mark Dzira, and was sentenced to 42 years behind bars after he was found guilty and convicted of all the crimes.
Count one was aggravated indecent assault, count two rape and count three indecent assault.
The complainants are female juveniles aged 11, 12 and nine.
Prosecuting, Mr Jethro Mada told the court that the offences were committed sometime in 2023 when Nyathi invited the three minors to his home.
“Once there, the accused allegedly gave the complainants his mobile phone to watch pornographic videos,” said Mr Mada.
The court heard that the man then asked each of the complainants to engage in sexual acts with him.
The matter came to light when one of the complainants disclosed the incident to her parents, who then summoned the other girls.
Following their disclosures, the matter was reported to the police, leading to Nyathi’s arrest in July.
In passing the sentence, Mr Dzira sentenced the accused to 20 years on count one, 20 years on count two and two years on count three but count two and three will run concurrently with count one.
Hence Nyathi will serve an effective 20-year jail term.
Bongani Ndlovu