Juvenile (14) rapes girl inside church
A 27-YEAR-OLD man from Figtree, on the outskirts of Bulawayo along Plumtree road, who was jailed 15 years for raping an 86-yearold woman has claimed that he sneaked into the octogenarian’s hut because he was running away from robbers who wanted to rob him.
Welcome Sithole appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Trynos Utawashe last week charged with rape.
He denied the charges but Mr Utawashe convicted him due to overwhelming evidence. In his defence, Sithole said he only got into the woman’s bedroom since he was running away from robbers.
Prosecuting, Mr Jethro Mada said on 25
April at around 7pm, the old woman retired to bed in her bedroom and left the door unlocked. She was woken at night by Sithole who was already in her blankets fondling her. He bolted out of the room but returned later and raped the woman while strangling her neck and closing her mouth so that she could not scream.
The court heard that Sithole threatened to kill the old woman before raping her again. The old woman managed to free herself and screamed for help resulting in her son coming to help. The son hit Sithole on the hand but he escaped. A police report was made leading to Sithole’s arrest. The old woman was taken to United Bulawayo Hospitals for a medical examination.
In a similar case, a 14-year-old juvenile from
Cowdray Park has been sentenced to three years in jail for raping a churchmate. The boy appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mrs Sibongile Marondedze and was sentenced for three years. Prosecuting, Mr Mada said the rape occurred between June and October last year at Victory Fellowship in the city.
The boy initially proposed love to the girl but was turned down. The court heard that in the first encounter, the boy fondled the girl without consent. On the second charge, the boy followed the complainant to the toilet and ordered her to take off her pants before he raped her. When the boy heard people talking from outside the toilet, he bolted out leaving the girl crying. He was caught and handed over to police.