Online Reporter
Herald Correspondent
A Mutare man who sexually abused his teenage niece more than a decade ago has been jailed an effective 10 years.
Mutare regional magistrate Mrs Sekai Chiwundura on Tuesday sentenced 68-year-old Harry Peter Mangani to 10 years imprisonment after convicting him of raping the complainant in 2016 when she was 18 years old.
The court heard that Mangani sexually assaulted the young woman at his homestead where they lived together as family.
Prosecutor George Nyatsuro told the court that the offence occurred in June 2016 after Mangani allegedly entered the complainant’s bedroom while she was asleep.
According to evidence presented during the trial, the complainant remained silent for years after the assault, with the matter only coming to light last year when she reported the case to Harare Central Police Station following consultations with close associates.
In handing down the sentence, Mrs Chiwundura said the court had considered the significant age gap between the offender and the complainant, as well as the abuse of trust involved in the case.
“The age difference between the two was just too much,” Mrs Chiwundura said.
She noted that Mangani had been a guardian figure to the complainant, who was an orphan at the time of the offence.
“This is his niece. It is a case of abused trust and also of a prohibited relationship,” the magistrate said.
The court further heard that the complainant believed she was safe in the family home, only for her uncle to take advantage of her vulnerability.
“Because this girl was an orphan, he took advantage of the situation,” Mrs Chiwundura said.
“It happened at their homestead where they lived together with the victim, and she thought she was safe at home, but Mr Mangani took advantage of that.”
The magistrate said the seriousness of the offence, coupled with the breach of familial trust, left little room for leniency.
She subsequently imposed what she described as a straightforward custodial sentence without suspension or reduction.
Mangani had pleaded not guilty during the trial.
The court heard that after the alleged rape, the accused took a bath and left the house, while the complainant remained traumatised and fearful.
The State also argued that Mangani used his position of authority within the family to intimidate the complainant, contributing to the decade-long delay in reporting the matter.
Cases involving sexual abuse within families often remain unreported for years because survivors fear stigma, intimidation or rejection by relatives, according to organisations working with victims of gender-based violence.
The sentencing marks the conclusion of a matter that had attracted attention in Mutare due to both the lengthy delay in reporting and the family relationship between the accused and the complainant.
