A 79-year-old man from Igusi village in Umguza has been arrested for allegedly raping his 12-year-old granddaughter several times and impregnating her
The man, whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of the minor, is an ex-convict who served jail time for a similar crime of raping and impregnating his minor daughter in 1992.
Matabeleland North Provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Glory Banda, confirmed the incident to CITE.
Insp. Banda said the man committed the offense sometime in January 2024 and the matter was reported to the police on March 6, 2024.
“The man raped the minor on four different occasions. When he did it the first time, he threatened that if she spoke out he would kill her. The minor reported the matter to her grandmother but she was dismissed. The grandmother claimed that the man was no longer sexually active,” Insp. Banda said.
“The matter later came to light through the school and a report was made to the police. It was reported on March 6, 2024 but the man fled.”
Insp. Banda said the man was later found on March 9, 2024 and arrested.
“It is sad that the minor tried to seek help but she was dismissed. We urge members of the public that when a girl child raises an issue of rape she may be listened to and offered the assistance she needs so that she can attain justice,” said the provincial police spokesperson.
According to a person familiar with the matter, the suspect had been arrested in 1992 in similar case where he raped his daughter and impregnated her.
“It is quite worrying that a community can have such vile people who destroy the lives of children like this. This man committed a similar offense on his own daughter. He would come and fetch her from school, claiming that she had to look after her siblings because he would have to attend to other things,” the source said.
“On the way home he would rape her. This happened repeatedly until the daughter fell pregnant.”
The source said members of the community then started noticing some changes in the man’s daughter and upon talking to her, she disclosed her ordeal.
“She was taken to the police and went for health checkups and they found out that she was pregnant,” said the source.
The source said the man was later released from prison after serving several years.
“He was released from prison and came back to his home. Now he has done the same thing to his granddaughter. If it wasn’t for the school authorities that held a programme to speak about child abuse, no one would have spoken out about this,” said the villager.
“I really hope that the community learns a lesson from this. Honestly someone must have seen or suspected something while the abuse was going on. But no one spoke out and now this man has impregnated another minor. I just hope the community would be more aware of such dangers within communities so that minors can be protected.”
