‘Gweru Man Allegedly Raped Daughters Aged (Two & Seven), Bribing Them With Sweets To Stay Silent’

A 36-YEAR-OLD man from Gweru allegedly raped his two daughters aged two and seven and gave them sweets to buy their silence.

The accused (name withheld to protect the identity of the minors) appeared before Gweru Regional Magistrate Morgan Nemadire facing two counts of rape.

He pleaded not guilty to raping his biological daughter, 2, and his stepdaughter.

The man was remanded out of custody on free bail to April 6.

In his defence, the man alleged that his girlfriend — a teacher at a local school — was fabricating the matter to fix him.

“Your Worship I didn’t rape my kids. She is lying. She wants me to suffer because I no longer love her. At the same time, she has a friend employed at Gweru Provincial Hospital who might have helped her to falsify medical reports.

“I recall when I started staying with her, her mother told me that the complainant had been abused about a year back by one of their relatives. I’m not the one who raped her,” he said.

Prosecuting, Andrew Marimo told the court that on count one and on a date unknown to him but in September last year, the accused was left alone with the complainant.

The court heard that the accused called the complainant into the house while she was playing outside.

“He locked the door and raped his seven-year-old stepdaughter twice and threatened to assault her if she disclosed the abuse to her mother,” said Marimo.

“The matter came to light on October 1 last year when the complainant’s grandmother visited the family and told her grandchildren that they should report anyone who molests them. The children opened up about the sex attacks.”

On the second count, Marimo told the court that last year, the accused called his two-year-old biological daughter into the toilet and raped her once. After the act he bribed her with sweets.

The matter came to light when the tot was medically examined after the elder daughter reported the rape to their grandmother. – Source-chronicle