Women warned against exposing themselves to rapist prophets

Harare, (New Ziana) – The police have warned women against consulting self-styled prophets and traditional healers in secluded places to avoid being raped.

National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said a woman seeking spiritual healing from a self-styled prophet or traditional healer in secluded places is a recipe for disaster.

His comments follow an incident in which a self-styled prophet raped a 26-year-old woman at a shrine in the high-density suburb of Dzivarasekwa 3 in the capital early last month.

Meanwhile, the National Prosecution Authority of Zimbabwe reports that a 28-year-old Chipinge man has been jailed for 20 years for a repeat rape offence.

The man from Chief Mutema’s area was convicted at the Chipinge Magistrates’ Court for an incident in which he raped a 16-year-old girl in her room around 11 pm on June 1.

He arrived at the girl’s homestead and called out her name pretending that he had come to collect an electric cable prompting another person who was sleeping in the same room with the girl to open the door.

When the man entered the room, he threatened to kill both the girl and the other person in the room if they failed to meet his demands and ordered them to follow him outside.

After walking for about 30 metres from the homestead, the man ordered the other occupant to return home while he took the complainant to a nearby bushy area where he produced a knife from his pocket and ordered her to lie down.

He then raped her four times threatening to kill her after the attack if she disclosed the matter to anyone. The complainant however managed to escape and went home where she narrated her ordeal to her grandmother. A police report was made leading to the man’s arrest.

The man was found to be a repeat offender and was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

New Ziana