adminZvikomborero Parafini
A HARARE man, who was convicted of raping his teenage step daughter, will spend the next 14 years in prison.
Frank Kanaweni was found guilty of rape after a full trial by Harare magistrate Solomon Jenya, who sentenced him to 16 years.
Two years were suspended on condition of good behaviour.
Kanaweni was facing two charges of indecent assault and a rape charge.
On the first, and second counts, the rapist stepfather fondled his stepdaughter’s breasts as she was getting ready for school in February and March this year.
She informed her mother who told her not to go into the bedroom, when her stepfather was home.
The State then proved that Kanaweni raped the girl on March 18, just after she’d woken up, to prepare for school.
She went to her parents’ bedroom to collect her uniform and when she knocked on the door, the stepfather opened the door.
He was naked.
She went away, but he called her and found him wearing a pair of shorts.
He locked the bedroom door and told her that he wanted to impregnate her before raping the teenager.
She cried for help, but no one came to her rescue.
Kanaweni denied the allegations saying his stepdaughter was sexually active, but his defence was destroyed by the magistrate in his judgment.
“The mother said she may have been mischievous, as she was still a child, but she didn’t engage in sexual activity, there was abrasion that showed that the sexual abuse was recent.
“He had attempted to rape her by fondling her, and finally raped her, but she managed to protect her evidence and the State managed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt,” the magistrate said.
Sherlynn Sadomba appeared for the State.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter