A 31-year-old barber from Kwekwe, Midlands Province, has been jailed for an effective 75 years after being convicted of raping and sexually assaulting five children aged between 9 and 11.
Rangarirai Mutangi, of Mbizo, was sentenced by the Kwekwe Magistrates’ Court on Thursday for eight counts of rape and aggravated indecent assault committed between December 2024 and April 2026.
The court heard that Mutangi, who also worked as a volunteer for the National AIDS Council, lured the children to his room using threats, deception and his position in the community. Weapons, including a firearm, were recovered from his premises after his arrest.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ), Mutangi first assaulted a 9-year-old girl between January and March 2026 after threatening her with a weapon. He attacked the same child again in April 2026.
In December 2024, he called a 10-year-old boy to his room and sexually abused him. The abuse of the same boy continued until April 2026, with Mutangi threatening to shoot him.
An 11-year-old boy was assaulted in October 2025 after being threatened with a firearm, and again in January 2026 when Mutangi used the pretext of playing games on a mobile phone to lure him into his room.
Prosecutors said Mutangi also used his role as a modelling trainer to indecently assault another 10-year-old boy in August 2025. The eighth count involved an 11-year-old boy who was woken while sleeping and forced into Mutangi’s room, where he was sodomised repeatedly between January and April 2026.
The case came to light in April 2026 after rumours began circulating in Mbizo, prompting parents and guardians to question the victims. Reports were made to ZRP Mbizo, leading to Mutangi’s arrest and the recovery of evidence from his home.
He was sentenced to 15 years for each count. The court ordered several of the terms to run concurrently, resulting in an effective 75-year prison term.
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