Two 14-year-old girls reported missing by their families in Magwegwe, Bulawayo, have been found after they were allegedly abducted by a man in his 50s who kept them in an disused building in Donnington, near Tshabalala.
The victims’ identities and that of the alleged perpetrator cannot be revealed as the police are yet to release a statement.
The man reportedly promised to open baking businesses for the girls.
One of the guardians who spoke to CITE said the two girls never came home after attending school on Monday. They attend Masotsha Secondary School.
The man reportedly took the girls to a disused school and would provide them with meals.
“We kept looking for them,” the guardian told CITE. “Through our investigations, we found a frequent number on one of the girl’s phones which was calling. We went to the police, they called in the person for questioning and he said he was buying cakes from the girls.”
After being released by police the man allegedly went to the building where he kept the girls and set them free.
Upon questioning, the girls revealed that the man had sexually assaulted one of them and that they had seen other girls, aged 16 and 17, at the location. They suspected drug activity at the site.
The guardian reported that the girls were medically examined, and the results indicated that one of them had been raped.
“When he released them, he bought a phone for one of the girls, but we confiscated the phone and gave it to her sister who pretended to be the girl, in the communication, he was saying the girls should stick to the story that they were in Harare,” the guardian said.
The man was reportedly called in for more questioning leading to his arrest.
Acting Bulawayo police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele, could not immediately confirm the matter when sought for a comment.
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