Gruesome rape, murder of 13-year-old at school

A thirteen-year-old form one student at Fatima High School in Jotsholo near Lupane was allegedly raped and gruesomely murdered by an unknown intruder, during the early hours of yesterday.

A source at the school yesterday told The Zimbabwe Mail,  the student had been sleeping with four others but they reportedly did not hear her struggle for breath and against the rapist during the attack, only to discover the nerve-wrecking incident  after the intruder had vanished into the night.

The attacker is thought to have muffled his victim's screams by tightly shutting her mouth and nose as he raped her, leading to her death due to asphyxia.

"The five girls were sleeping in a building which is part of the school premises but not necessarily a dormitory. They have been using the premises as bush boarders.

"We suspect the intruder broke into the room while the girls were fast asleep where he used his hands to close the mouth and the nose of one of the girls as he raped her, leading to her death," said the source who declined to be named.

The incident, which has shocked the students, teachers and parents in the Jotsholo area is said to have happened between 2400hrs and 0100hrs before one of the students sleeping within the room discovered the intrusion.

Nurses at the school who attended to the incident are said to have also discovered that the girl was raped.

"The students woke up and raised alarm after discovering one of their own lying in blood; she had bled from the nose and mouth probably due to suffocation.

"The school's nurses who did a check-up on the girl noticed that there was blood on her private parts, leading to the conclusion that she might have been raped," said the source.

Jotsholo police, who were called to the scene at 0100hrs, are said to have only arrived at 0600hrs and when The Zimbabwe Mail enquired about the incident at the school at 0200hrs, they were still combing the area for evidence.

Jotsholo is about five kilometres from Fatima High School.

Matabeleland North Provincial Education Officer Boitatelo Mnguni, who was on her way to Harare, confirmed the incident but said she had not yet received the particulars of the child.

"I have been informed about the rape and murder of a schoolgirl at Fatima Secondary which happened in the middle of the night but I have not yet obtained the proper details of the name and age of the student. It's really sad," she said.

However, Matabeleland North police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Eglon Nkala said they had not yet received any reports about the incident.