Teacher, student (15) sexcapades exposed

A ZAKA man is devastated after his daughter confessed having a sexual relationship with a teacher at school.

For the callous act Tawanda Zinyemba - a teacher at a local secondary school - is assisting police with investigations since March 9 but now out of custody. He has not yet appeared before the court

H-Metro will not be giving the Zaka man's name to protect his daughter, still 15 years old, whose case was reported under CR Number 37/03 /15.

It has since emerged that while investigations are going on, the teacher resumed work this week, leading to the father withdrawing the student from school.

Yesterday, the accused Zinyemba dismissed the allegations of sex with a minor saying he had been shocked by events in the past days.

"I do not even know where that is coming from I was not even the girls teacher. I only took their class for about two agricultural lessons.

"Right now, I'm actually on my way to the police to find out if a date has been set for me to go to court I have requested to have my lawyer represent me so I need to know the court date," said Zinyemba.

The father of the victim is also a friend to the teacher.

"Yes, we know each other well because we are from the same area. I cannot say there is any grudge as such but honestly I'm very surprised where all this is coming from because there was nothing going on between me and the student," he said.

The father of the 15-year-old explained his shocking discovery saying they acted after a warning.

"We were told by sources at the school about the relationship and we then tried to find out the truth about the matter.

"At first when we asked our daughter about the issue, she looked terrified and was not willing to reveal anything. We then had to ensure we got child helpline involved and we also had to report the case," said the father.

"After a medical examination report from Masvingo Provincial hospital came out, she then decided to tell us more about the relationship with the teacher.

"Indications are that this has been going on for a long time, since she was 14 and we have been stunned as a family. It is a very difficult time for us and we are now only banking on the legal system to help us.

"Today (Monday) we heard the teacher resumed normal lessons so we have agreed as a family that if we find the teacher at the school, we are withdrawing our child from the school. We do not think it will be proper for him to be there when there is a pending case."

The father added that Zinyemba is a family friend.

"He is someone that we know very well. He is actually a close friend to my younger brother and that is why it is more painful to us."

The investigating officer who was handling the case, only referred to as Chimhete, referred all questions to the Officer in Charge Crime called Chiuswa. He in turn pointed out that only the Officer in Charge could give a comment on the case.

The officer in charge was not picking his phone yesterday afternoon.

Although no comment could be obtained from the school, H-Metro is reliably informed the accused has also been given 14 days to respond to the allegations levelled against him by the education authorities.

"The district education officer indicate that they gave Zinyemba a letter to respond to since the case had also been forwarded to them by the school. So that is another ongoing process," said a source

"The headmaster has been co-operating with the affected parents and he has indicated he will do everything in his power to resolve the situation.

"What has, however, frustrated the parents so far is the snail's pace at which the case is being handled."