Man rapes granddaughter (6) at knife point, infects her with STI

A 59-year-old man from Gokwe has been slapped with a 17-year jail sentence after being found guilty of raping and infecting his six-year-old granddaughter with a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

The man, (name withheld to protect the victim), of Chireya Village under Chief Mkoka in Gokwe-South, had pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Gokwe-Kwekwe regional magistrate Mr Amos Mbobo last week.

He was, however, convicted after a full trial.

Mr Mbobo suspended two years of the sentence for five years on condition of good behaviour.
For the State, Mr Mandla Ndlovu told the court that the  six-year-old girl was left in the custody of the 59-year-old man after her parents died a few years ago.

The prosecutor said the two shared the same bedroom where the six-year-old girl would sleep on the floor while the grandfather slept on the bed. The court heard that some time last month, on a date unknown to the prosecutor, the 59-year-old man forcibly took off the girl's clothes and raped her once at knife point.

After the heinous act the grandfather is said to have threatened the girl with death if she reported the matter.

Mr Ndlovu said despite being threatened with death, the six-year-old girl reported the matter to her uncle, who also tried to conceal the matter.

The matter finally came to light when the brave six-year-old girl went to report the matter to a member of the neighbourhood watch committee in the village, leading to the man's arrest.