Harare man in court for raping niece

A Harare man was on Friday hauled before the courts on charges of raping his 17-year-old niece on three separate occasions.

Marshall Makoni (41) appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Yeukai Dzuda, who remanded him in custody to January 22.

It is the State’s case that sometime in February 2021, the accused person and his wife had a dispute, which caused the spouse to leave their house almost every Friday of the week to visit her parents for weekends.

Prosecutor Mr Anesu Chirenje alleged that during the first encounter, the accused had some drinks with his friends while the teenager was in her bedroom.

He subsequently asked her to come and watch pornographic movies with him in the dining room, but she refused.

The accused then proceeded to the complainant’s bedroom, removed his clothes and fondled her without her consent.

He further removed the complainant’s clothes and raped her without protection.

On two other occasions, the accused forcibly had sexual intercourse with the complainant when his family was absent.

On January 11, 2022, the accused again attempted to force himself on the complainant, but she ran away and proceeded to her sister’s place in Ruwa, where she narrated her ordeal, leading to the arrest of the accused.