Latest News Editor's Choice


News / National

Youth rapes, viciously stones victim

by Staff reporter
08 Jun 2013 at 05:37hrs | Views
AN 18-year-old Mberengwa woman is battling for life at a hospital in the district after a close relative reportedly raped her before viciously striking her with stones in a bid to silence her and avoid arrest.

The teenager (name withheld) whose head had to be stitched, has serious injuries to her head, face and hands.

Midlands police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko confirmed the incident, saying the suspect was in custody assisting with investigations.

"We are handling a case of an 18-year-old woman who was raped at a bushy area in Mberengwa at around 2pm on June 1. It was reported that the complainant was accompanied on her way home by a 21-year-old male adult who along the way requested for sex with the complainant who turned down the request.

"When they got to the bush, the suspect then raped the woman once. After the act, the woman expressed intention to report the case to the police leading to the man attacking her with stones."

Insp Mahoko said after the attack, the woman fell unconscious whereupon the suspect fled the scene.

"Rape is a serious offence in Zimbabwe. In this case, the suspect actually worsened the situation by attacking the woman with stones after raping her. The courts do not take lightly to offences committed under such aggravating circumstances," said Insp Mahoko.

The teenager opened up to The Herald from her hospital bed on Thursday.

"He raped me and when I told him that I was going to report the case that is when he started hitting my head with stones. When I tried to block him, he hit my fingers with the other stones trying to crush them. I lost strength and fell unconscious.

"He wanted to kill me and I am in so much pain. I don't know if I will survive but I want him to spend the rest of his life in prison because he is evil. If he gets out, who knows, maybe he will attack other girls," she said while sobbing.

The teenager who is a primary school drop-out due to financial problems stays with her 86-year-old grandmother and a mentally challenged uncle.

Her mother died recently while her father stays with her siblings.

Source - herald