Mthokozisi Ncube
A US$1 note allegedly given to a 13-year-old girl by a 52-year-old man led to the exposure of a disturbing case of alleged sexual abuse in Umguza, Matabeleland North.
The girl’s father became suspicious after finding her with the money and demanding to know where she had got it.
What appeared to be an ordinary dollar reportedly opened the door to a shocking disclosure about the girl’s alleged ordeal.
According to a police statement provided by Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Nomalanga Msebele, the suspect, identified as Tibious Sibanda, allegedly first approached the girl at a community borehole in
Chesa Forest Village 1 in June this year.
He reportedly proposed a romantic relationship before allegedly taking her to a nearby maize field, where he sexually abused her.
The girl reportedly kept the incident to herself.
However, on October 30, Sibanda allegedly gave her US$1 and told her to buy whatever she wanted before leading her to a nearby bush, where he allegedly raped her.
The matter came to light after the girl’s 45-year-old father noticed the money and questioned her about its source.
It was during the questioning that she reportedly disclosed what had allegedly happened to her.
The father subsequently made a police report.
Inspector Msebele said Sibanda was still at large at the time of publication.
