Man rapes, stones 4-year-old to death

A MENTALLY challenged Victoria Falls man was on Tuesday sentenced to spend the rest of his life at Mlondolozi Health Care Institution for raping and stoning a four-year-old toddler to death.

Nkululeko Moyo (26), of Chinotimba high-density suburb, was treated as a special case under the Mental Health Act when he appeared before Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo at the Hwange Circuit.

Prosecutor Whisper Mabhaudi said on March 14 2011 at around 2pm, Moyo took Sharon Sibanda from her place of residence in the same high-density suburb and spent almost the entire afternoon walking around with her and introducing her to people he met as his daughter.

At around 7pm, Moyo took Sibanda to a bush between Chinotimba and the Zambezi River gorge where he raped her several times before crushing her with a stone and killing her instantly. He then buried Sibanda in a shallow grave.

Moyo's State-provided lawyer Tonderai Mukuku said his client was not aware of what was happening because he was unstable when he committed the crime.

In sentencing him, Justice Moyo, together with assessors Felix Bhobhote Dube and Elizabeth Chazanga, agreed that it was a special case which involved mental illness and therefore, committed him to Mlondolozi Health Care Institution where he would be confined for the rest of his life.