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Rape teacher loses appeal

by Staff reporter
23 Nov 2017 at 05:25hrs | Views
THE High Court has rejected an appeal against conviction and sentence by a Victoria Falls teacher serving an effective eight years in jail for sneaking into his tenant's 15-year-old epileptic daughter's bedroom and raping her while she was unconscious.

A drunken Dennis Mazarira (41) fell asleep on top of the girl after the sex attack. The girl had fallen unconscious after a seizure.

Mazarira was found undressed inside the complainant's bedroom after the girl managed to escape and locked the door from outside before alerting neighbours.

Mazarira was last year convicted of rape by Hwange regional magistrate Ms Dambudzo Malunga and sentenced to 10 years in jail of which two years were conditionally suspended for five years.

Mazarira, through his lawyers Kanoti and Partners, filed the application at the Bulawayo High Court citing the State as the respondent.

In his grounds of appeal, Mazarira argued that the lower court erred by disregarding inconsistencies in the testimony of the complainant.

He further argued that the magistrate overlooked the fact that the complainant did not report to anyone that she had been raped since her aunt was very drunk.

In dismissing the application, Justice Nicholas Mathonsi sitting with Justice Maxwell Takuva during the appeal in court, ruled that the criticism that the complainant's testimony was riddled with inconsistencies lacked merit.

The judge said the sentence was actually lenient.

"The appellant (Mazarira) must consider himself extremely lucky that he was given an effective eight years. He displayed deceitfulness of the highest order when he drank beer with complainant's father before leaving him at the beer outlet to go and prey on his daughter," said Justice Mathonsi.

He said Mazarira's conduct was deplorable and callous.

"He took advantage of the girl's medical condition and strong medication she had taken to attack her in the most callous manner that he would not be detected. Sexual perverts who target young girls the way appellant did should not expect the courts to treat them with kid's gloves," said Justice Mathonsi.

He said the courts have a duty to protect children against predatory instincts of rapists by imposing harsh sentences.

"There is no place for such people with predatory instincts in our civilised society. In the result, the appeal is hereby dismissed in its entirety," ruled the judge.

The facts of the matter are that on August 31 in 2016 at 9PM, Mazarira sneaked into the girl's room. The complainant had taken epileptic tablets and was feeling dizzy at that moment.

He undressed and raped her. The girl woke up and discovered Mazarira in the act of raping her. She jumped off and ran out of the room before locking the door from outside. She informed their neighbours about the rape.

The neighbours came and found Mazarira undressed. A report was made to the police leading to Mazarira's arrest. The girl was medically examined by doctors who observed a tear on her private parts, a stretched hymen indicating that there was penetration.

Mazarira had earlier taken the girl's father- who is his tenant- for a drink at Chinotimba Old Bar.

He left him in a drunken stupor at the drinking hole and went home to rape the girl.

Mazarira made headlines in 2015 when his wife hit him with a stone, almost crushing his privates, after accusing him of infidelity.

The 'controversial' teacher was also early last year forced to transfer from a school in Victoria Falls to Chisuma on the outskirts of the resort town after fighting with a headmaster.

Source - newsday