Man forces neighbour's son to swallow his semen, on the run

A 34-YEAR-OLD man from Entumbane suburb in Bulawayo is on the run after allegedly sodomising his neighbour's six-year-old son and forcing him to swallow his semen.

The man allegedly took advantage of the absence of the boy's grandmother to lure him to his house on 18 August where he abused him.

Residents in the suburb on Monday said the man was an ex-convict who was jailed for seven years in 2002 after being found guilty of rape.

They said he had a rape case thrown out of court due to lack of evidence last year.

Some residents vowed to castrate the man if they ever saw him again.

The boy's mother, who travelled from South Africa after she heard the story, could hardly speak because of grief.

The boy's grandmother said on the day the incident occurred, she came home in the afternoon and found the boy missing.

"I called his name and he came out of the neighbour's house walking in a strange manner. His head was hanging down and he looked utterly dejected. I immediately suspected that something was wrong. When I questioned him, he refused to speak. He just said he wanted to go to the toilet," said the grandmother.

She said the accused person then rushed from the house when he heard her questioning the boy and said he had brought an avocado for the boy.

"It was all strange. The boy stuck to his story that nothing was wrong. However, he told his cousins that the man had forced him to have anal sex and threatened to beat him up if he did not comply with his orders," she said.

The grandmother said she called the boy's aunt the following day to question him and he opened up.

"We were shocked. We called the accused's mother and she examined the boy and said nothing was wrong with him. When we took him to Entumbane Clinic they referred us to the police, who in turn referred us to Mpilo Central Hospital," said the grandmother.

She said the boy was examined at the hospital and given medication to reduce chances of contracting HIV.

"They then compiled a report that they sent to the police. We do not know what was in the report.

The accused person disappeared on Tuesday and police are still hunting for him," said the grandmother.

The boy's mother said she was pained by the abuse her son had suffered.

"It is a heavy weight in my mind and heart. I have to bear the additional trauma of waiting three months for another HIV test to determine whether  he was not infected," said the boy's mother.

"These people are my neighbours and I cannot avoid speaking to them daily. However, I believe they know where their son is hiding and I appeal to them to tell the police. This nightmare will not be over until he is behind bars. I fear that since his whereabouts are unknown, he might kidnap my son when he is coming from school and do worse things to him," she said.

The woman said courts should not show mercy on people like the accused person because he had shown that prison had failed to reform him.

"If we ever see that man, we shall cut off his private parts. He does not deserve to be free in society. He once went to prison after developing a habit of waylaying strangers in the bush and raping them," said a neighbour.

Contacted for comment, acting police spokesperson for Bulawayo Assistant Inspector Bekimpilo Ndlovu confirmed the incident. "We are handling a case of aggravated indecent assault involving a 34-year-old Entumbane man and a six-year-old boy. Police investigations are in progress," said Asst Insp Ndlovu.

He said according to the law such abuse was only called sodomy if both parties consented.

"They would then be both charged with sodomy because it is against the country's law," he said.