A 61-year-old man from Dema is accused of sexu...ally abusing two girls aged 12 and 13, in a case that has deeply distressed families and the local community.61-year-old suspected paedophile has left two families broken after allegedly raping young girls aged 12 and 13, with shocking revelations that the perpetrator claimed to have sexually abused 15 other adolescents in the Dema area of Mashonaland East Province.
The curtains to this house are firmly closed, painting a scary outlook reminiscent of a haunted house.
Perhaps this assumption could be true, because its owner allegedly harboured devious intentions and lustfully planned against his brother’s 13-year-old daughter, whom he is said to have raped while her mother was away.
It is a house that is only a stone’s throw away from where the alleged offence took place, a bitter reminder for Tanaka’s mother each time she passes this place.
She seemingly appears to hasten her pace as she passes this house. As she opens up, my heart sinks with pain. The details are laid bare.
“I was away, and Tanaka(not her real name) was alone, so I asked her grandmother next door to look over her. She spent the night at her place. In the morning, she went back to our house to prepare for school, and that is when she was attacked by her father’s brother. He was caught red-handed in the act,” the heartbroken mother narrates.
She tries to put on a brave face, but every word confirms the deep wound she feels.
“I wish he could just die. Is there any better justice for a person like this than death?” she asks deep in thought.
Our conversation lasted almost 10 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. I had the chance to see Tanaka; she is 13, and her tiny body betrays her age.
She opens up in this chapter which has left her distraught.
“On the morning of the offence, he came into our house and dragged me by the hand into my mother’s bedroom. He then tore my pants and raped me. He was seen by our other relative and threatened us with death if we revealed the offence,” the young girl narrates, eyes distant and haunted, the gruesome encounter too hard to relive.
Tanaka is not the only victim of her father’s brother; rather, he is also accused of raping another close relative also aged 13.
To the alleged perpetrator, Tendai was a granddaughter.
This experience has completely changed Tendai’s( not real name) life, and her confidence has been completely stripped off.
“He raped me and told me I was not the first one. He claimed he did it to 15 other girls, so there was no one who could do anything to him,” Tendai says.
My heart is completely shattered on hearing the alleged ra...pist is HIV positive.
“This man is HIV positive. My granddaughter was placed on the treatment soon after the crime, but who knows, maybe it will manifest later in life. I am completely shattered watching my granddaughter every day,” Grandmother, Gogo Saru ( not real name) breaks down.
The suspected rapist is due for judgment at Chitungwiza Magistrates’ Court this Wednesday.
All the girls are looking for is justice; as it stands, their lives have been turned into a boulevard of broken dreams.
