Former mayor charged over niece 'rape'

The former mayor of Gwanda Rido Mpofu appeared in court on Wednesday accused of raping his 15-year-old niece on several occasions.

Mpofu, 70, briefly appeared before Gwanda magistrate Caroline Matanga facing rape charges.

He was remanded in custody to October 23 and advised to apply for bail at the High Court.

"Sometime in 2019, the juvenile was with accused person where she used to stay when she retired to bed, the accused followed her to her bedroom and asked her to polish his shoes," said prosecutor Noel Mandebvu.

"Complainant woke up to receive the shoes and the accused pushed her to the bed. He removed his short and lowered the girl's trousers and pants before indulging in sex with her without consent."

Mpofu is alleged to have further sexually abused the teenager three times this year, threatening to send her away from his Gwanda home and stop paying her school fees if she revealed the matter to anyone.

The teenager finally opened up to her grandmother in August this year before the matter was reported to police last month.

Mpofu is also a former Zanu-PF chairman for Matabeleland South province.