adminWalter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
A MASVINGO magistrate has described a man who raped his 14-year-old daughter as “sick” before sentencing him to an effective 20 years in prison. The 35-year-old man who is a widower invited the girl from the rural areas where she stays with her maternal grandmother on the pretext of wanting to give her money for school fees.
The man who resides in Pangolin suburb, Masvingo, had pleaded not guilty to raping his Form 2 daughter but regional magistrate, Judith Zuyu, convicted him due to overwhelming evidence linking him to the crime.
In passing sentence Zuyu said the man was inhuman and shameless.
“This court has concluded that by raping your own daughter, you acted in a manner synonymous with someone who is not normal. You took advantage of the girl’s situation since her caring mother died and raped her. I wonder how you could sleep with your daughter on the same bed in the same blankets.
“You unashamedly had sex with your own daughter. You’re dangerous to society,” said Zuyu.
Prosecuting, Sophia Busvumani said sometime in November 2014, the accused asked the complainant who lives in the rural areas to come to Masvingo and collect money for fees.
When the girl realised that there was only one room, she asked her father where she was going to sleep.
The complainant told the accused that she wanted to sleep with other girls who were neighbours but the man responded by closing the door.
“The two slept on the same bed and shared the same blankets. In the middle of the night, the man started fondling the girl who then woke up complaining.
“The man told his daughter to calm down arguing that his actions were a demonstration of care,” said Busvumani.
The man took advantage of the girl when she fell asleep and raped her once.
The girl reported the rape to her aunt who resides in the same area, who in turn reported the matter to the police leading to the man’s arrest.
Online Reporter