Mosquito-net errand ends in rape allegation as 62-year-old man goes on the run
A 62-year-old man from Cold Comfort is being sought after a 16-year-old domestic worker reported that he raped her in his bedroom, where he had asked her to fix his mosquito net and make his bed.
Peterson Goredema is alleged to have called the teenager into his room on Friday under the pretext of asking for help with the household task. After she finished, he allegedly blocked her way out, locked the door, pushed her onto the bed and raped her without a condom. The maid tried to fight him off but was overpowered.
The reported assault has prompted a police investigation in Harare. The teenager was referred to Sally Mugabe Hospital for a medical examination, and the matter was recorded at Kuwadzana Police Station under RRB 7013028. Goredema had left his home by the time the complaint was made and had not been located in the account of the case.
The sequence described by a neighbour suggests the young worker faced further pressure after the alleged rape. The neighbour said Goredema locked the yard gate the next day, preventing her from leaving. When she asked to visit her sister, he allegedly refused and threatened to end her employment if she left.
“On Saturday Goredema locked the gate to prevent the maid from leaving the yard. She further asked for permission to go and see her sister, but Goredema prevented her from leaving and threatened her that if she left the house her job will be terminated. On Sunday she managed to sneak out and proceeded to her sister where she narrated her story.
“The two proceeded to Goredema’s place of residence where they were chased refusing to answer questions about the rape. After the two went to police, Goredema fled his house and is yet to be located,” said one of the neighbours.
The teenager managed to leave the property on Sunday and went to her sister, where she disclosed what had happened. The two returned to Goredema’s home to seek answers, but were chased away, according to the neighbour. They then went to the police. Goredema is said to have fled after they reported the case.
The allegation describes a domestic worker summoned to perform an ordinary household duty and then allegedly trapped inside a bedroom. It also places the teenager in a position of dependence: she was working in the household, and the neighbour says her employer threatened her job when she sought permission to leave. The available account does not say how long she had been employed there or whether she had previously raised concerns.
The Cold Comfort case is among several reports involving domestic workers and employers in Zimbabwe during 2026. In April, a 19-year-old maid in Southlea Park told police that her employer, Vengai Makawa, raped her after she went into his bedroom to change his three-year-old son’s nappy and make the bed.
The alleged attack was said to have happened on March 29, after Makawa’s wife left for work. The maid was leaving the bedroom when she met Makawa at the door. He allegedly pushed her back inside, overpowered her and raped her without protection. He then left the house and returned with emergency contraceptive pills, which he ordered her to take.
The case came to light after the young woman told a friend the following day. She later called Makawa to say she was leaving for a relative’s home. He allegedly urged her not to go and not to tell anyone. She recorded that conversation, then went to her relative’s home and reported the case to police. Makawa appeared in court charged with rape. No later outcome was included in the available report.
A separate case in Harare ended in a prison sentence in October. A 54-year-old man was jailed for an effective 15 years after being convicted of raping an 18-year-old domestic worker at his home in Ingwe Farm. The assault took place on August 30 while his wife was away on night duty.
The court heard that the man was in his bedroom with his five-year-old daughter at about 4am while the domestic worker slept on the sitting-room floor. He went into the sitting room to check his mobile phone, woke her and complained that his wife’s night shifts were boring him before demanding sex. When she refused, he removed her blanket and raped her. He later gave her US$1 for a WhatsApp bundle and told her to keep quiet.
The young woman reported the assault to a neighbour at about 6am. The neighbour accompanied her to the police station, leading to the man’s arrest and, later, his conviction and sentence. Unlike the Cold Comfort and Southlea Park cases, this case had reached a conclusion in court by the time it was reported: the accused had been sentenced to prison.
The details of the 3 cases differ, but each account places a domestic worker inside the employer’s home when the alleged assault took place. In Cold Comfort, the teenager says she was called to carry out a task in the employer’s bedroom. In Southlea Park, the worker had entered the room to care for a young child and make the bed. In Ingwe Farm, the worker was asleep in a shared living area when her employer allegedly approached her.
For the Cold Comfort teenager, the immediate focus is on her medical examination and the police investigation, while the man named in the report remains at large. Her sister accompanied her when she sought help, and the neighbour’s account describes the effort to leave the property and reach the police despite the alleged threat to her job.
The case number recorded at Kuwadzana Police Station is RRB 7013028. Police have not been reported as locating Goredema. The 16-year-old has been referred to Sally Mugabe Hospital for examination.