Rape victim told to marry offender

AN ODZI man, who allegedly raped a Mutare juvenile with the blessing of the victim's grandmother, appeared before the court facing rape charges.

Tafadzwa Kanjanda was not asked to plead when he appeared before magistrate Sekai Chiundura and was remanded to August 1. He was advised to apply for bail at the High Court.

Charges against the accused are that on a date unknown to the State but in June this year, the accused had been trying to lure the 14-year-old complainant on different occasions to no avail.

According to the State, the complainant's grandmother suggested to the juvenile to love the accused and marry him, threatening the juvenile that she would stop taking care of her if she refused.

Later in the evening of the same day, the complainant's grandmother went to visit a friend in Chikanga suburb and left the juvenile alone.

The complaint slept in the dining room alone and later in the night, the court heard, the accused person sneaked into the complainant's blankets and all the efforts she made to restrain him were futile as she was raped without anyone coming to her rescue.

In the morning, the complainant told her grandmother what had happened, but no action was taken.

Instead, she was told to marry the accused. The accused took the juvenile to Odzi where he introduced her as his wife. In Odzi, Kanjanda continued raping the complainant for about three weeks until the accused's mother gave her busfare to return to her home in Mutare.

Upon return to Mutare, the complainant revealed to her mother what had transpired, leading to the arrest of the accused.

A medical examination was conducted at Mutare Provincial Hospital where it was confirmed that she had been raped.

The state said the accused had no right to act in the manner that he did.