A 79-year-old man from Igusi village in Umguza has been arrested for allegedly raping his 12-year-old granddaughter several times and impregnating her
The man, whose name has been withheld to protect the
identity of the minor, is an ex-convict who served jail time for a similar
crime of raping and impregnating his minor daughter in 1992.
Matabeleland North Provincial police spokesperson,
Inspector Glory Banda, confirmed the incident to CITE.
Insp. Banda said the man committed the offense sometime in
January 2024 and the matter was reported to the police on March 6, 2024.
“The man raped the
minor on four different occasions. When he did it the first time, he threatened
that if she spoke out he would kill her. The minor reported the matter to her
grandmother but she was dismissed. The grandmother claimed that the man was no
longer sexually active,” Insp. Banda said.
“The matter later came to light through the school and a
report was made to the police. It was reported on March 6, 2024 but the man
fled.”
Insp. Banda said the
man was later found on March 9, 2024 and arrested.
“It is sad that the minor tried to seek help but she was
dismissed. We urge members of the public that when a girl child raises an issue
of rape she may be listened to and offered the assistance she needs so that she
can attain justice,” said the provincial police spokesperson.
According to a person familiar with the matter, the suspect
had been arrested in 1992 in similar
case where he raped his daughter and impregnated her.
“It is quite worrying that a community can have such vile
people who destroy the lives of children like this. This man committed a
similar offense on his own daughter. He would come and fetch her from school,
claiming that she had to look after her siblings because he would have to
attend to other things,” the source said.
“On the way home he would rape her. This happened
repeatedly until the daughter fell pregnant.”
The source said members of the community then started
noticing some changes in the man’s daughter and upon talking to her, she
disclosed her ordeal.
“She was taken to the police and went for health checkups
and they found out that she was pregnant,” said the source.
The source said the man was later released from prison
after serving several years.
“He was released from prison and came back to his home. Now
he has done the same thing to his granddaughter. If it wasn’t for the school
authorities that held a programme to speak about child abuse, no one would have
spoken out about this,” said the villager.
“I really hope that the community learns a lesson from
this. Honestly someone must have seen or suspected something while the abuse
was going on. But no one spoke out and now this man has impregnated another
minor. I just hope the community would be more aware of such dangers within
communities so that minors can be protected.” CITE
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