Suspected rapist off the hook

MARONDERA- A Hwedza man was last week acquitted of raping his 11-year-old biological
daughter with Marondera magistrate Ignatius Mhene saying there was not enough concrete
evidence to link him to the offence.
The court heard that on January 6 this year, a man sneaked into the 11-year-old room and raped
her once.
The complainant had told the court in camera that she was asleep with her 10 year old brother
when she had visited her father.
She was awakened by someone who removed her clothes and raped her but she did not see the
face of the perpetrator since the room dark.
The complainant tried to wake her brother to no avail and she suspected the perpetrator to be her
father due to the bad odour of alcohol mixed with cigarettes she sensed.
It was alleged that the complainant sneaked away through the window and went to one
Bvekerwa's house where she reported that her father had raped her, leading to his arrest.
Upon conducting medical examinations, it was discovered that there were healed marks on her
hymen showing that the tears were not fresh. However, it was still concluded that the
complainant bled as a result of the aggravated assault.
In his defence, the accused claimed that he was awakened by security guards a few minutes after
he had just gone to bed asking to see and count his children when they realised that one was
missing and arrested him. He claimed he had no idea of what was going on and pleaded not
guilty to the offense.
In passing his judgement, Magistrate Mhene clarified that it was because of the lack of concrete
evidence that the accused was being acquitted.
He also commented on the alcohol and cigarettes odour that the complainant recognised and
linked to her father who drinks and smokes. The complainant had also mentioned that the voice
of her perpetrator was the same as her grandfather's, which is also why she linked it to her father.
Shamiso Mwapangira prosecuted.