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Fungai Lupande Court Reporter
A 38-year-old Chinamhora man was sentenced to an effective 18 years for raping his 15-year-old stepdaughter for two years and making her pregnant. The man, who was employed at Mistress Mine under Chief Chinamhora, ordered the girl to “assume her mother’s duties whenever she was away”. Harare regional magistrate Mr Hosea Mujaya sentenced the man to 20 years imprisonment and suspended two years for five years on condition of good behaviour.
In his defence, the stepfather said he was sterile and impotent. “I don’t have any child and was married to the complainant’s mother for 17 years. “The charges are fabricated because there is no way I could have raped my stepdaughter and made her pregnant because of sterility.”
The man had to be sent for medical examinations. The medical report, however, proved that there was nothing wrong with his reproductive system. In passing sentence Mr Mujaya said; “You took advantage of your wife’s absence to abuse her daughter. You betrayed the trust bestowed upon you by your wife to look after her daughter.”
Prosecutor Ephraim Zinyandu proved that sometime in January 2013, the man was left in the custody of the complainant after her mother had gone to collect medication at Makumbi Mission Hospital. The man told the girl that he wanted to be intimate with her, but she turned him down.
He threatened to kill her and throw her out of his home if she refused to comply with his orders. He then forcibly stripped her before raping her. From that day, the man raped the girl thrice every week until April 4, this year.
The mother noticed changes in her daughter’s behaviour and took her to Makumbi Mission Hospital where it was discovered that she was pregnant. The girl revealed that her stepfather was responsible for the pregnancy, leading to his arrest.
Online Reporter