Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku, Court Writer
A 40-YEAR-OLD man from Tsholotsho has been handed an effective 40-year prison sentence for the repeated rape and subsequent impregnation of his 19-year-old daughter.
The convicted man, who resides in Mkhubazi Line in Tsholotsho District, cannot be identified in order to protect the privacy of his daughter. He was found guilty on two counts of rape by Bulawayo regional magistrate, Mr Lungile Ncube.
In his sentencing remarks, Mr Ncube severely condemned the accused’s actions, asserting that they constituted a gross violation of both fundamental human principles and his basic parental duty.
“The accused violated the values of Ubuntu and his conduct is evil and deplorable. Such people deserve to be removed from society for a long time. Accordingly, a lengthy prison term would meet the justice of the matter,” the magistrate stated.
Prosecutors Ms Siphiwe Mhlanga and Ms Hazel Ncube presented the evidence to the court, detailing the timeline of the abuse. The court heard that between June 2022 and July 2024, the accused repeatedly raped his daughter within the confines of his own bedroom.
Crucially, the court was told that on each occasion he committed the offence, he threatened to physically assault her should she report the abuse.
The accused, who chose to represent himself during the trial, put forward a shocking defence. He told the court that after separating from his wife in March 2022, he subsequently “proposed love” to his daughter and claimed their sexual relations were consensual. He openly admitted to having slept with her several times, which resulted in her becoming pregnant.
However, during cross-examination, the victim vehemently denied ever giving her consent, maintaining steadfastly that her father had forced himself upon her and used threats to ensure her silence.
“My father forced me to sleep with him several times and I later fell pregnant in September 2023,” she informed the court.
She went on to describe her father as possessive and abusive, stating that he frequently monitored her movements and social interactions.
“He used to follow me to work and demand my phone to check who I was communicating with. Whenever he saw messages from a male person, he would beat me up.”
The victim also testified to a harrowing incident that occurred more recently: “In July this year, I ran away to my mother’s village, but he followed me there and took me back home where he raped me again.”
Londile Moyo