A man from Dzivaresekwa, a suburb in Harare, appeared in court on Thursday facing grave charges of r@ping a young girl who had been assisting his blind sister. According to reports, the accused, identified as 43-year-old Shecky Mudzimairi, was brought before the Harare regional magistrate, Mrs. Marehwanazvo Gofa, to answer to the charges leveled against him.
During the court proceedings, Magistrate Gofa remanded Mudzimairi in custody until September 6, noting the seriousness of the allegations. She informed Mudzimairi that, due to the nature of the offense—categorised as a third schedule crime—bail could only be considered by the High Court. This classification underscores the severity of the charges, as third schedule offenses include the most serious crimes under Zimbabwean law.
According to the prosecution, the incident in question took place in November of the previous year. The State alleges that Mudzimairi approached the young girl’s mother, requesting her consent to have the girl spend the night with his sister, who is blind, under the pretext of needing her assistance. Trusting his request, the mother agreed, believing her daughter would be safe.
However, later that month, while the young girl was sleeping in a bedroom with Mudzimairi’s sister, Mudzimairi allegedly entered the room in the middle of the night. The State further claims that Mudzimairi lifted the girl from where she was sleeping, carried her to his own bedroom, and proceeded to r@pe her three times. Throughout the assault, he allegedly thre@tened the girl with a knife, warning her that he would st@b her if she made any noise or attempted to alert anyone to what was happening.
The girl’s ordeal only came to light later, leading to Mudzimairi’s arrest and subsequent court appearance. The case has drawn significant attention due to the heinous nature of the allegations, and it is expected to be closely followed as it progresses to the High Court, where the full weight of the law will be brought to bear on the accused.
