She is my father's prostitute - girl (11) tells court

AN 11-year-old girl from Bulawayo left the court stunned when she testified that her father was a womaniser, pointing at a woman whom she said was her "father's prostitute".

The minor girl was testifying in a case on Wednesday where a 28-year-old woman, Portia Zimamba of 1256 Cowdray Park, is being accused of indecent assault and public indecency.

The 11-year-old girl, when asked whether she knew the woman in the dock, told the court that she knew her because she was her father's prostitute.

She said Zimamba had initially come to their place of  residence claiming to be a domestic worker yet she was sleeping with their father.

The girl and her 14-year-old sister are key State witnesses in the case where Zimamba, their father's "small house" allegedly fondled their breasts and private parts, and at the same time allegedly "swept" their breasts with an unknown object claiming she was preventing the breasts from growing extraordinarily big.

The two girls also complained that their father, a manager with a local company in Bulawayo, was giving much attention to the "small house" while neglecting them when their mother was in South Africa.

They also testified that Zimamba, while allegedly touching their private parts, told them that if they wanted to have sex at school they should use bananas like she used to do during her high school days at Usher High School in Figtree.

The little girls said Zimamba, who is employed at a Chinese shop in the city centre, allegedly always told them that their father wanted to marry her, which is why she was always naked in their house.

Asked why they took so long to report the matter, the girls said they told their father but he did not believe them. They said he always shouted at them for lying against the woman.

Zimamba was arraigned before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Sophie Matimba to answer to a charge of indecent assault for touching the girls' private parts on the pretext that she was bathing them and public indecency after she paraded around the house in the presence of the little girls naked on a number of days she was staying in their parents' house.

She is pleading not guilty to both charges and claimed she loved the children and bought them some goodies.

Zimamba, who is out of custody on her own cognisance, will next appear in court on 14 December.

Allegations against Zimamba are that after the girls' mother left for South Africa in November 2008, she started going out with their father, which she admits.

Zimamba reportedly started visiting the girls' place of residence apparently to see her boyfriend, the girls' father.

The court heard that she started going there on weekends when she was introduced to the children as a domestic worker but later moved in as their relationship was no longer a secret.

The court heard that Zimamba would allegedly bath the girls despite their age and fondle their breasts and touch their private parts despite their efforts to refuse to be bathed or stop her from touching them.

On one of her visits, Zimamba allegedly started moving around the house parading her naked body and sat in the sitting room in front of the children who were in the company of their brother.

The court heard that she threatened them with death if ever they revealed the matter to their mother who was still in South Africa.

The matter was only reported to the police recently when the mother returned from South Africa and her children narrated events that had been happening at her house.

Mr Robin Mukura appeared for the State.