A 26-year-old individual was formally charged and presented before the Western Commonage Magistrates’ Court in Bulawayo, facing a total of three separate counts of r@pe.
The case in question involved a 17-year-old female who had posted a message on a WhatsApp group forum in March 2024, expressing her desire to secure employment.
According to media reports, the court was informed that on May 1, 2024, the accused party initiated contact with the young girl, falsely claiming that his grandmother, residing in Cowdray Park, Bulawayo, was in need of a domestic worker.
The girl subsequently travelled from Plumtree to Bulawayo on May 5, 2024, where she met the accused and his two associates. Initially, they visited a local beer garden before proceeding to the accused’s residence in Mpopoma.
He assured her that he would transport her to Cowdray Park the following morning.
However, in a disturbing turn of events, the accused entered the room where the girl was sleeping, forcibly removed her clothing, and perpetrated two acts of r@pe that night.
He committed a third act of rape the following morning. The incident came to light when the girl reported the traumatic experience to the authorities, leading to the arrest and eventual conviction of the accused.
The court handed down a sentence of 20 years imprisonment.
