A 44-year-old Bulawayo man who was accused of raping his 14-year-old niece and indecently assaulting her 12-year-old sister has been discharged at the close of the State’s case due to lack of evidence linking him to the alleged offences.
The man from Pumula North suburb, whose name is being withheld to protect the victims, was alleged to have raped and indecently assaulted the two juveniles in January this year.
In acquitting the accused, Western Commonage regional magistrate Mrs Sibongile Marondedze noted that there were inconsistencies in the testimony of the two complainants.
“After hearing the testimonies by the complainants, the court noted that there is a lack of evidence linking the accused to the rape and indecent assault. Accordingly, he is found not guilty and acquitted,” ruled the magistrate.
According to the prosecutor, Ms Christine Manyika, the first incident was alleged to have occurred in November last year at around 1pm. The man was alleged to have taken advantage of the absence of the complainants’ grandmother, and allegedly dragged the 14-year-old girl into his bedroom.
He allegedly pushed her onto the bed and raped her.
“He then pulled a knife from his pocket and threatened to stab and kill her if she either screamed or resisted his advances. He then raped her,” said Ms Manyika.
On another occasion, the court heard, the man again took advantage of the complainant’s grandmother’s absence and followed the 12-year-old girl into her bedroom. He then allegedly touched her buttocks several times without her consent.
“The complainant screamed, but the accused threatened her with unspecified consequences if she told anyone what had happened. Since then, the accused has regularly touched the complainant’s buttocks whenever he wanted, each time her grandmother was away,” said Ms Manyika.
The court was told that in January this year, the victims’ aunt, who was in South Africa, returned and quizzed the two girls about their interactions with the man.
The complainants then revealed that they had been abused leading to the man’s arrest.
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