Man sentenced to three years for sex with minor

Dalyn Chigwizura, Court Reporter

A 32-year-old Bulawayo man has been sentenced to three years in prison for sexually violating a 13-year-old girl.
Patrick Chihambakwe of Mbundane suburb pleaded not guilty to the offense when he appeared before Western Commonage regional magistrate, Mr Pasipanodya Maturure.

He was initially sentenced to four years in prison, and one year was suspended for five years on condition that he does not commit a similar offense. Effectively, he will spend three years behind bars.

In passing the sentence, Mr Maturure said that although the girl consented to the act, the accused person was not supposed to do that, considering that she is a minor deemed incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse. The complainant is small-built and cannot be mistaken for an adult,” said the magistrate.

What had started as a rape case changed during the court session when the complainant’s friend was called to testify in court.

According to the 13-year-old complainant, on September 16, she left home purporting to be visiting her brother but went to her friend who stays in the same residence as the accused person. Her relatives looked for her but could not find her.

Ms Manyika told the court that the complainant was then spotted loitering near a sewage stream by her neighbour the following day, and she took her home.

Upon arrival, the girl told her sister-in-law that she had spent the night at the accused’s place and that the accused person had raped her that night.

During the court session, the complainant’s friend was called to testify and she revealed that her friend (the 13-year-old) was not raped but consented to sexual intercourse.

“She consented to the sexual intercourse, and I was also having sex with Dala, in the same room, at the same time,” she said.

Chihambakwe, however, denied the allegations, saying he was not home when the crime was committed. He claimed he arrived home around 8.30PM and yet the offence had happened around 7PM. He further told the court that he slept in his room with his roommate that day.