adminThe area, about 37km out of Bulawayo, is infamous for child sexual abuse cases, which often go unreported.
Angry villagers have been hunting for the man who disappeared when the offence came to light.
They said they reported the case at Nkulumane Police Station in Bulawayo on Monday.
Villagers have appealed to the police and child protection organisations to visit the area and see for themselves the suffering of abused children.
The girl’s mother, aged 20, could hardly speak as she was sobbing continuously.
She said she realised that something was amiss when she saw her daughter limping on Monday.
“I asked her what was wrong and her father quickly answered on her behalf. He said her foot had been pierced by a thorn,” said the woman, trying to hold back tears.
She said when she went into the kitchen her daughter followed her and when she asked her what had happened again, the little girl started crying.
“I have never felt so angry and so helpless in my life. I listened in horror as she told me what her father had done to her. I left the homestead in a daze as I went to report the matter to the Village Child Protection Committee,” she said.
The woman failed to continue her story as emotion overcame her and a committee member, Mrs Nothando Nkomo, took over.
“I told other members of the committee and we sent someone to make a report at Nkulumane Police Station. We are waiting for the police as we speak,” said Mrs Nkomo.
She said the child had told them that her stepfather had raped her at least three times.
At this point, the girl limped into view and when she saw the news crew she hobbled out of sight to hide behind a wall.
The chairperson of the Village Child Protection Committee, Mr Fanuel Mlilo, said when villagers heard the news, they organised each other and went to make a citizens’ arrest.
“However, when we got to his homestead he had disappeared. We did not sleep as we have been searching for him the entire night. We are disappointed because sometimes we report abuse cases with evidence but police never show up and the culprits go scot free,” said Mr Mlilo.
He said villagers reported crime at Nkulumane, 40km away, or Figtree Police Station about 35km from West Acre.
“We appeal to authorities to establish a police base here so that criminals might be deterred by the officers’ presence,” said Mr Mlilo.
Another member of the committee said Childline officials were doing a good job in the area but they stopped after being wrongly implicated in the virginity tests scandal that rocked Tsetse Primary School in April.
“They now say they will come after the police have attended the scene. The police often ignore reports, so we have a big problem. We need those people here,” he said.
A youth who was part of the group that was hunting for the stepfather said villagers should take the law into their own hands to send a clear statement that would deter would-be abusers.
Contacted for comment, police spokesperson for Bulawayo metropolitan province, Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo confirmed they had received a report about the incident and said investigations were under way.
He said police set up bases in areas based on crime frequency reports and records showed that crime was relatively low at West Acre.
“However, we acknowledge the request and will treat it with the seriousness it deserves. We also want to point out that it is the right of the public to demand the name, force number and rank of an officer when they make a report.
This makes it easy to make follow ups and complaints when reports are not responded to,” said Insp Moyo.
An official from Childline said the organisation attended to all reported cases of abuse without pre-conditions.
“We have not received reports from that area since the virginity testing issue. We attend to all cases of child abuse unconditionally because we cannot afford to jeopardise the safety of children,” said the official who declined to be named.
In April, virginity tests conducted by the committee resulted in three men who had abused children in Grade six and seven, getting arrested.
The men had either paid a goat or a chicken to buy the silence of the victims’ parents.
Last month, in Look-out Village in Figtree, a 73-year-old man allegedly accepted monthly groceries from a 25-year-old man who impregnated his granddaughter, a Grade Seven pupil, in return for not getting the man arrested.
The man was angry that the case was being publicised and said almost every family in the village had under age children who had been impregnated by their neighbours and they negotiated marriages for their children.
Online Reporter