Teacher 'rapes' pupil during extra lessons

A 65-year-old teacher from Njube was arraigned before the courts on Thursday, facing charges of rape.

The man, who cannot be named for ethical reasons, appeared before Bulawayo Western Commonage Courts magistrate Mrs Sibongile Marondedze, who remanded him in custody until November 10.

According to the State case presented by Ms Melisa Dube, the accused committed the offence sometime in September this year, when he raped one of his students, who is a juvenile. Ms Dube informed the court that the accused had previously been convicted of a sexual offence.

The court heard that the accused had called the complainant and other students to his house for extra lessons.

"After he had given them an exercise to write, the accused proceeded to his bedroom where he called the complainant to come and collect her book she had left the previous day," said Ms Dube.

She stated that on the day in question, the accused took the complainant into his bedroom and raped her once.

"I could not scream as he had told me not to scream or he was going to assault me and no one was going to know," claimed the complainant in court.

The matter came to light when one of the complainants confided in her parents, who reported the matter to the police, leading to the man's arrest.

In Zimbabwe, the minimum sentence for rape varies depending on the circumstances of the offence. If the rape is committed under aggravating circumstances, the minimum sentence is 15 years. However, if the offence is committed under mitigating circumstances, the minimum sentence is five years. For particularly severe cases, such as the rape of minors aged 12 and below or individuals with disabilities, the Government has proposed a minimum mandatory sentence of 60 years.