Man impregnates daughter (15), marries her

A 48-YEAR-OLD man from Gokwe has set tongues wagging after he impregnated and started cohabiting with his 15-year-old daughter after withdrawing her from school.

The man (name withheld to protect the identity of girl) from Mapfungautsi high-density suburb in Gokwe Town is said to have demanded sex from his biological daughter who was doing Form Three at Ganye Secondary School.

The girl who is now pregnant has since dropped out of school and is now living with her parents as his father's second wife.

When Sunday News visited the family, the girl was manning her father's market stall while he was said to have gone to a local primary school where he was preparing for Early Childhood Development graduation ceremony held on Thursday last week.

Chief Njelele also confirmed that the man who works as a traditional food and vegetable vendor at Craft Centre in Gokwe had an incestuous relationship with his daughter and she has since dropped out of school after her stepmother spilled the beans.

"I heard about the case. I am still to get the finer details to the matter but in our culture that is unacceptable. You cannot marry your own daughter, that is taboo," said an emotional Chief Njelele.

It is, however, understood that the incestuous relationship started early this year until the girl fell pregnant.

The stepmother allegedly spilled the beans after she failed to stomach sharing a man with her stepdaughter and reported the matter to the police.

According to neighbours, the man severely assaulted his wife and broke her leg after she reported the matter to the police.

However, the man was not taken to court but instead was fined $50 and released by the police.

"My market stall is next to his. They are so in love that they show their affection in public. The two are always together and the girl has since dropped out of school. She was doing Form Three at Ganye Secondary School here in Gokwe.

"The matter was once reported to the police but he only paid a fine and was released," said a fellow vendor only identified as Madzibaba Mashame.

Midlands police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko could neither deny nor confirm the matter.

"I am not aware of such an incident. I will have to check with the responsible station to see if they handled such a case. I will furnish you with any details related to that if they come across them in their records," he said.

Meanwhile, a 45-year-old man from Zhombe has been slapped with a 20-year jail sentence after he raped his 12-year-old daughter while his wife was away.

The man (name withheld) from Gweru Village under Chief Samambwa in Zhombe appeared before Gokwe regional magistrate Mr Amos Mbobo facing rape charges.

He pleaded not guilty but was, however, convicted after a contested trial and sentenced to an effective 20 years.

In passing the sentence Mr Mbobo said the cases of involving rape were on the increase and the court does not condone rape especially from relatives considering that the children look up to them for protection.

The State's case was that on 8 August this year, the man found his three daughters working in the fields and asked the other two to go fetch firewood from the nearby bush and he was left with the complainant.

The court heard that the man forced the juvenile to bend over and he raped her once before he was caught in the act by a neighbour, Trust Zvidzai who reported the matter to the village head.

The matter was then reported to the police leading to the man's arrest.

Mr Robert Ndlala appeared for the State.