MARRIED MAN BREAKS INTO HOUSE, RAPES WOMAN

A 28-YEAR-OLD married father of one from Bulawayo was yesterday slapped with a 25-year jail term for breaking into a house and raping a woman.

Simiso Mathuthu told regional magistrate Mr Chrispen Mberewere that he raped the woman last Saturday in Emthunzini near Pumula suburb due to lust after having admired her for some time.

He also pleaded for leniency saying his child is only three weeks old. Mathuthu pleaded guilty to rape and unlawful entry charges.

“The court understands that accused is a first offender but his crime outweighs such mitigatory factors. We are used to women being raped while fetching water or firewood and it is scary that women in Bulawayo are no longer safe even in their own houses,” said Mr 
Mberewere.

“Society expects the court to show displeasure in such men who make homes unsafe for women. Accused should therefore expect to spend a lengthy time behind bars.”
He sentenced Mathuthu to five years in jail for unlawful entry and suspended two years.

“For rape, he is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment of which four years are suspended on condition of good behaviour,” said the magistrate.
Mathuthu said he made a mistake by raping the woman.
“I had for a long time been seeing her and I really wanted her which pushed me to commit the offence,” said Mathuthu.

Prosecuting, Mr Simbarashe Manyiwa said on Saturday at around 6AM, Mathuthu gained entry into the woman’s house.

“He then strangled her with a blanket and when she tried to scream for help, Mathuthu closed her mouth. Mathuthu threatened to harm the woman and her three-year-old child who was sleeping beside her,” said Mr Manyiwa.

The court heard that Mathuthu used a sharp piece of metal to stab the woman once on her lips to silence her.
“He then ordered the woman to let him do all he wanted. Mathuthu went on to shove the blanket into the woman’s mouth,” said Mr Manyiwa.

“He used the sharp object to tear up the woman’s pant before ordering her to discard it. Mathuthu raped the woman and went away.”

The court heard that Mathuthu fled from the house, but the woman managed to identify him.
“A report was made to police who attended the scene. While she was still at the police station, she spotted Mathuthu and told police that it was him who had raped her,” said Mr Manyiwa.

It was not stated why Mathuthu was at the police station when his victim spotted him.
Mathuthu is yet to appear in another court on robbery charges.  Details of the case were not immediately available. Chronicle

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