Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Crispen Mberewere sentenced a 51-year-old man from Lupane who raped his 15-year-old stepdaughter and conspired with his wife to cover up the crime to 15 years in prison. However, three years were suspended on condition that for five years he does not commit the same offence.
Sentencing the man from Mpaceni Village, Mr Mberewere said the courts can only help the society by removing such people from the society. He also said that a stepfather is supposed to look after his child regardless of whether it’s his biological child or not. Prosecuting, Mr Simbarashe Manyiwa said sometime in May 2016 the man asked his stepdaughter to help him ferry sorghum from a bushy area. It is alleged that when the two got to the fields the stepfather took a wooden rod and threatened to beat up his stepdaughter for disrespecting her mother. He then grabbed her by the legs and forced her to lie down on the ground and he forcibly had sexual intercourse with her without her consent and told her that if she told anyone it will be a sign of disrespect.
On count two, in May, the stepfather called his stepdaughter when she was about to go to sleep. He started fondling her breasts, grabbed her legs and lifted her with her head hanging downwards. The matter came to light when the stepfather went to Luthe Village. His stepdaughter narrated what had happened to her mother who promised to settle the matter within the family.
More: Sunday News
Back to top