Online Reporter
Kimberley Chitambara, [email protected]
A Bulawayo teenager has been convicted of raping his neighbour’s two daughters, aged seven and eight, in separate incidents.
Gift Lwandile Mdlongwa, of New Magwegwe suburb, was found guilty on two counts of rape by Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Mark Dzira and remanded in custody to Monday for sentencing.
Prosecuting, Mr Jethro Mada told the court that the first incident occurred on June 7 last year at around 7.30pm, when the seven-year-old complainant was on her way to an outside toilet and was intercepted by the accused.
The court heard that Mdlongwa covered the child’s mouth to prevent her from screaming before dragging her into the toilet, where he undressed her and raped her.
“The accused person approached her, covered her mouth so that she could not scream, stripped her naked and raped her,” said Mr Mada.
The victim’s distress forced the accused to flee, and she later reported the matter to her grandmother, who alerted the police.
In the second incident, which occurred during the same month, Mdlongwa targeted the victim’s eight-year-old sister.
The court heard that the accused was at his neighbour’s house when he asked the minor to escort him to his home.
Upon arrival, he took her into a toilet, where he forced her to bend down before raping her.
The child later disclosed the incident to her grandmother, leading to the accused’s arrest. Medical reports for both victims were produced in court as evidence.
