Man (21) in court for raping 14-year-old cousin

Where parties state how their agreement may be cancelled, the party which seeks to cancel it must cancel it in terms of the dictates of that agreement

Dalyn Chigwizura

A 21-YEAR-OLD man from Bulawayo has appeared in court for allegedly raping his 14-year-old cousin.

The man, from Old Pumula, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity, appeared before Western Commonage regional magistrate, Mr Pasipanodya Maturure, facing charges of rape and was remanded in custody to November 14 for trial.

Prosecuting, Ms Christina Manyika told the court that the alleged incident occurred on October 14.
“The complainant, who lives at the same residence as the accused, was home alone around 7 PM, preparing dinner, when the accused entered the house. He ordered her to remove her clothes, but she refused,” she said.

The court heard that when the victim declined, the accused forcibly undressed her, forced her onto the floor and allegedly raped her once.

The complainant later wrote a letter to her grandmother and mother disclosing what happened.
Upon receiving the letter, her grandmother and mother took her to the police to report the assault, which led to the suspect’s arrest. The victim was referred to Mpilo Central Hospital for medical examination.