IN a sh0cking case of child abuse, a 74-year-old man from Gwelutshena in Matabeleland North province allegedly rɑpǝd his 13-year-old mentally unstable granddaughter.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the minor child, appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Joseph Mabeza facing a charge of rɑpǝ.
He pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody for trial.
Allegations against the septuagenarian are that sometime between January and April 2022, the victim was sent by her grandmother to ask for salt from him.
It is alleged that when the victim arrived at his house, she found him sitting outside.
She greeted him before she informed him the purpose of her visit.
The alleged perpetrator then told the victim to wait outside as he went to his bedr00m and he came back after a while.
He then invited the juvenile to his bedr00m but she refused before he forcibly grabbed her by her hand into his bedroom.
While they were inside, he strippǝd her nakǝd before he allegedly rɑpǝd her once.
The victim did not inform her grandmother about the incident but she shared the sad news with neighbours until it reached her grandmother.
The juvenile’s grandmother then questioned her and she narrated the ordeal to her but she did not report the matter to the police.
The police later received a tip off from some of the villagers about the incident and they carried out their investigations leading to the arrest of the culprit.
— BMetro
