adminMarvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
A member of the Neighbourhood Watch Committee in the Gwanda District who raped and impregnated a neighbour’s 12-year-old daughter has been sentenced to 30 years in jail.
Thobisa Ncube, 54, of Zhukwe West Village had pleaded not guilty to six counts of raping the young girl when he appeared before Regional Magistrate Joseph Mabeza.
Mabeza sentenced Ncube to 10 years imprisonment for count one and two, 10 years for count three and four and another 10 years for the fifth and sixth count, bringing the to total to 30 years.
Mabeza ordered counts one to four to run concurrently.
Five years of the sentence were suspended for five years on condition he does not commit a similar offence within that period, leaving him with an effective 15 years.
Mabeza said he had taken into account that the accused had been a good citizen up to the age of 54.
“However, you stand convicted of a serious offence and you have been working with law enforcing agents,” he said.
Ncube’s lawyer McAllister Ncube of Mabhikwa, Hikwa and Nyathi Legal Practitioners had earlier appealed to the court to be lenient.
In his submissions, prosecutor Johannes Tlou said under normal circumstances, the offence which was committed by Ncube attracted a prison term of up to 50years.
“What is aggravating is that the complainant also fell pregnant and has a baby at the age of 12 and am told by the complainant’s mother that the accused had contributed nothing towards the infant’s upkeep,” said Tlou.
The court heard that Ncube started sexually abusing the young girl who then was in Grade Seven in November 2012.
Ncube would have sexual intercourse with the girl and offer her some money to buy some goodies. He also threatened the girl with a knife and told her not to reveal the matter to anyone.
The rape incidents took place at Ncube’s homestead while his wife was away and in the bushy area when the girl was on her way home from school.
After learning of the girl’s pregnancy, Ncube advised her to drink lots of coffee to terminate the pregnancy, the court heard.
The matter came to light when the complainant narrated her ordeal after she was questioned by a concerned villager who suspected that the girl could be pregnant leading to Ncube’s arrest.
Online Reporter