10 years for inserting finger into neighbour's privates

A MAN from Hwange who inserted his finger into his married neighbour's privates through her bedroom window while she was sleeping with her husband has been jailed for eight years.

Hlonipho Sibanda (35) of Empumalanga suburb pleaded not guilty to indecent assault charges when he appeared before Hwange regional magistrate Mrs Dambudzo Malunga .

He said he regarded the woman as his sister and she was fabricating the charges because he at one time rebuked her about her extra-marital affairs.
Sibanda told the court that the woman only wanted to fix him.

"I was in my room and I am just being implicated. The complainant is my sister as we share the same surname so I wouldn't have left my wife to do that," said Sibanda.

Mrs Malunga, however, convicted him after a full trial.

She sentenced him to 10 years in jail but suspended two of them for five years on condition of good behaviour.

Prosecuting, Mr Bheki Tshabalala said Sibanda caressed the woman and inserted a finger into her privates through a window while she was asleep with her husband.

He said on October 25 last year at around 4AM, the accused went to the complainant's place of residence, peeped through an open window and saw the complainant and her husband sleeping.

"The complainant was sleeping near the open window and he started touching her all over the body. The accused then inserted his finger several times into her privates. The woman woke up thinking it was her husband but was shocked to find it was her neighbour Sibanda," Mr Tshabalala said.

He said the woman screamed and her husband woke up.

Sibanda fled from the scene and was arrested later after a report was made to the police.