Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku
A MAN who offered a desperate teenage boy a place to sleep before sodomising him has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Edson Phiri (43), a resident of the historic Makokoba suburb, learned his fate this week when he appeared before Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Ms Sibonginkosi Mkandla. Phiri was facing grim charges of aggravated indecent assault after a “kind gesture” to a stranded teenager turned into a horrific sexual assault.
The court heard a chilling tale of trust broken in the dead of night. On 13 December, at around 7PM, a 17-year-old boy found himself desperate for a place to lay his head. He met Phiri at a local barbershop and, thinking he had found a helping hand, asked for a place to sleep.
Phiri led the unsuspecting teen to his bedroom, but the hospitality ended the moment the lights went out.
The prosecution, led by Jethro Mada, detailed how the boy woke up to find Phiri committing a “despicable act.”
When the terrified teen screamed for help, Phiri allegedly turned violent. He stuffed a piece of cloth into the boy’s mouth to silence him and threatened to gut him with an okapi knife.
Petrified and silenced, the boy was forced to endure the assault. He eventually managed to escape the house while
Phiri was still fast asleep the following morning, running straight to Mzilikazi Police Station to report the nightmare.
In a desperate bid to escape the cage, Phiri pleaded not guilty. He tried to convince the court that the whole encounter was just a friendly outing gone wrong.
“I deny the charges. I spent the whole day with him at a beer hall. I did not have sex with him,” Phiri claimed.
He further alleged that there were three people sharing the bed and that they spent the following day together before police “randomly” arrested him.
However, Magistrate Mkandla pointed to a medical report that confirmed the teen had been violated.
“You breached the trust the unsuspecting boy had in you and sexually attacked him. The incident left the boy traumatised,” the magistrate said while delivering the heavy sentence.
