Online Reporter
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]
A 29-year-old Esigodini man has been sentenced to an effective 15 years’ imprisonment for attempting to rape his 45-year-old cousin.
The man from Mlambathema Village, who cannot be named to protect the complainant’s identity, was convicted of attempted rape by Gwanda regional magistrate Mrs Sithembiso Ndebele.
In passing sentence, Mrs Ndebele said the State had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“There was no reasonable explanation why the complainant could have fabricated the allegations, as there was no history of bad blood between them. The accused person is a danger to society and a deterrent sentence is needed to serve as a lesson to like-minded people who victimise women,” she said.
“What is aggravating is that the accused person is a cousin to the complainant, who is older than him, meaning that she is his elder sister. The complainant wrestled with the accused person, which shows that he was adamant and bent on sexually abusing her.”
Prosecuting, Mr Ngonidzashe Shumba told the court that the accused attempted to rape the woman on January 16 at around 4PM after encountering her while she was fetching firewood in the bush.
“The accused person advanced towards the complainant, grabbed her by her neck and dragged her to the nearby bush and pushed her to the ground. The accused person tried to remove complainant’s clothes, but she wrestled with him and managed to overpower him,” said Mr Shumba.
The matter was reported to the police, and subsequent investigations led to the man’s arrest. —@DubeMatutu
