A TEENAGER from Binga allegedly committed suicide by
hanging and left a suicide note claiming he was tired of living after family
members summoned him for raping and impregnating his 17-year-old niece.
Matabeleland North police spokesperson Chief Inspector
Siphiwe Makonese confirmed the incident which occurred under Chief Saba’s area.
She said police are concerned about the increasing number
of rape cases perpetrated by close relatives during the lockdown.
“We received a case of a teenager who committed suicide
after family members leant that he had impregnated his niece and summoned him
for a family meeting. He allegedly hanged himself after being asked about the
issue. We are concerned because this is one of the many cases of abuse of girls
by a close relative,” said Chief Insp Makonese.
She said the 18-year-old boy, was summoned by family elders
on Saturday on suspicion that he had raped and impregnated his niece.
During the family meeting, the now deceased allegedly
admitted to having slept with his niece, once.
Chief Insp Makonese said he disappeared from home on Sunday
prompting his mother to look for him. She found a suicide note on his bed.
The note read: “I am fed up with life, till we meet in
heaven. I admit that I impregnated my niece.”
The deceased’s mother alerted neighbours who searched and
found his body hanging with a piece of wire from a tree in a nearby bush on
Monday morning.
Police took the body to Hwange Colliery Hospital mortuary
enroute to United Bulawayo Hospitals for postmortem.
Chief Insp Makonese appealed to families to protect minor
children especially the girl child.
“We are worried because we’re receiving many cases of rape
by relatives during this lockdown. We had another case in Tsholotsho where a
man had been raping his daughter for five years until recently when the girl’s
mother caught him and alerted family elders.
“The girl revealed to her aunties that her father had been
sexually abusing her since 2015 and had been threatening to kill her if she
told anyone about the abuse. We also had another case recently of a man here in
Hwange who raped his daughter claiming he was checking virginity.
“There are quite a number of cases and about three quarters
of them are perpetrated by close relatives. We want to urge families especially
mothers not to trust anyone with their daughters or leave minor children
especially girls unattended when travelling,” said Chief Insp Makonese. Chronicle
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