Online Reporter
A man aged 45 has been handed a 30-year jail term for habitually raping his stepdaughter (12).
The victim’s mother is also accused of trying to cover up the abuse to protect her partner.
Bulawayo magistrate Taurai Manwere sentenced the man, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity, to three decades in the slammer.
The victim, who is now suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and complex trauma syndrome, also disclosed that four other unnamed individuals had sexually abused her.
The court heard harrowing details of how the serial assaults began in January 2024.
The Grade Four learner was left in the accused’s care while her mother was at work.
Prosecutor Nomthandazo Mafu detailed how the man lured the girl into the bedroom, had unprotected sex with her and then issued chilling threats to ensure her silence.
This depraved cycle was repeated in January and May 2025, with a fourth assault happening in June 2025 when the man dragged the minor into a bush during a trip to Inyathi.
The child finally disclosed the abuse on June 8, 2025 during an interview with the Department of Social Welfare. A social worker resultantly flagged the case, leading to the stepfather’s arrest.
The complainant’s mother faced intense scrutiny in court.
When questioned on why she delayed reporting the matter, she blamed sudden leg pain.
Prosecutor Mafu, however, challenged her testimony, suggesting that fear, confusion or blind loyalty to her husband was the real reason for the delay.
The court also heard the mother had even tried to intimidate the victim during a previous hearing, forcing the magistrate to intervene.
The Department of Social Welfare has since separated the child from her for safety reasons.
Mafu strongly argued that the child’s severe abdominal pains were consistent with repeated assaults.
The magistrate said the stepfather had betrayed his role as a protector.
He noted the child’s consistency in her testimony and the vivid details she provided, including how the rapist wiped her with a cloth after the assaults.
“He exploited her vulnerability,” the magistrate declared.
“Hence, the sentence of 30 years is appropriate.” — Bulawayo Bureau
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From security guard to ‘world’s dumbest criminal’
A Fawcett security guard has become a living warning about the dangers of being an intellectually challenged criminal.
Chrispen Tawanda Mashingaidze (27), of Barbourfields in Bulawayo, was arrested three times after allegedly stealing from the same workshop and then selling the loot online, almost as if he was begging to be caught.
He is now a red-hot contender for the title of “world’s dumbest criminal”.
He appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Challenge Mahembe facing charges of stealing property worth over US$1 000.
He pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody. Even his plea sounded confused, considering what happened next — he tripped over his own story before the court even tried to test it.
According to prosecutor Cynthia Lunga, Mashingaidze broke into Simbarashe Chipwanya’s workshop between May 31 and June 2, helping himself to two car batteries, a diagnostic machine and regassing gauges neatly packed in a blue case.
After that, he boldly advertised the loot on Facebook Marketplace.
Chipwanya, spotting his property online, pretended to be an interested buyer and alerted the police. Officers set up a trap, swooped in and arrested the guard, recovering all the goods, which were worth US$686.
You would think he would have learnt his lesson. He did not!
During the same period, he allegedly sneaked back into the same workshop and took an HP printer, a car battery, a welding machine and an HP CPU monitor. Again, he posted them online like weekly specials.
Chipwanya repeated the same trick to trap him and items worth US$600 were recovered.
Still undeterred, on August 3, he allegedly hit another workshop and stole an HP CPU monitor, a Samsung screen, a black keyboard and a mouse. He similarly advertised them online once more.
Chipwanya saw the post and probably sighed before calling the police.
All the goods, worth US$350, were recovered.
In total, Mashingaidze allegedly stole over US$1 000 worth of goods and advertised every last item right where the owner could see. — Bulawayo Bureau
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Church elders clash over bricks
Worshippers in Kadoma witnessed a scene that could easily pass for a Nollywood church drama when members of the Mugodhi Apostolic Faith Church turned a holy sanctuary into a war zone.
Instead of hymns and hallelujahs, bricks were flying.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe, four men, who clearly misunderstood the commandment “Love thy neighbour”, decided to demolish a rival faction’s church building at Pondombiri Business Centre in Manima.
Not only did they tear it down; they carried the bricks away like supermarket specials and used them to build their own structure. Same yard. Same church. Same God. Different vibe.
The “heavenly” brick hustlers were named as church elders who really should have known better — Stephen Mugwagwa (66), Sebastine Marimo (71), Trymore Nango (37) and Shephard Hadson (36).
One can only imagine the confusion among church members who arrived the following Sunday to find half the building missing.
The Kadoma Magistrates’ Court convicted the quartet of malicious damage to property and handed them 12 months behind bars.
However, the sentence was wholly suspended for five years on condition they each pay US$1 000 as restitution. This is obviously quite a heavy price to pay. — Mashonaland West Bureau
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Njube cleric accused of preying on teenage congregant
A man of the cloth has sent tongues wagging in Njube after trading the pulpit for the dock to answer charges of turning a teenage congregant into his personal sex slave.
Joseph Munetsi (36), a bishop at St Emmanuel Apostolic Church, is facing charges of rape and indecent assault after allegedly preying on an 18-year-old girl from his own flock.
The bishop appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Lungile Ncube and was remanded out of custody. Prosecutor Sehliselo Khumalo told the court that on a date unknown during the third term, Munetsi reportedly found the unsuspecting teen alone at home.
The two began discussing general issues.
Munetsi then asked the girl if she had any problems requiring spiritual help.
The holy man stood up, lifted the complainant and forcibly planted a kiss on her lips while his wandering hands caressed her breasts, buttocks and privates. In a bizarre twist, the accused asked the girl to fetch half a cup of water and coarse salt from the kitchen.
He prayed over the mixture and chanted, “Hana yako ngaidzidze kuteerera (May your heart be obedient),” before making her drink the concoction. The court also heard that on the second count, sometime in August 2025, the complainant was home alone when the bishop paid her a visit. As soon as she opened the door, Munetsi grabbed her by the hand and dragged her to the spare bedroom.
When the terrified teen tried to resist, the man of God threatened her. He took a sponge, laid it on the floor and ordered the girl to lie on it. He lifted her skirt, put on a condom and forcibly had sexual intercourse with her.
The complainant tried to push him away, but the accused insisted and only stopped when the girl screamed that he was hurting her.
Munetsi then coolly went to sit in the living room, threatening that she would become handicapped if she dared tell anyone about the ordeal. The bishop’s reign of terror came to an end in September 2025 when the girl’s cousin, Agatha Zinja, noticed she was constantly absent-minded.
After being questioned, the teen revealed the abuse. Agatha assisted her in reporting the matter to the Bulawayo Central Police Station.
A medical report was produced in court as evidence. — B-Metro
