State Media|A 78-YEAR-OLD man from Nkayi has been arrested for allegedly raping his 15-year-old niece for about four years while threatening to kill her if she exposed him.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the minor, appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Franklin Mkhwananzi.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of rape and was remanded in custody to May 6 for provision of a trial date.

The prosecutor, Mr Nkathazo Dlodlo, said from 2016 to February this year, the man raped his niece several times.

“On the first occasion in 2016, the grandfather summoned his niece to his homestead. As she got into his yard, he dragged her by the hand to his bedroom hut. He ordered the minor to remove her clothes and raped her once.

“He threatened to kill the minor if she told anyone about the matter,” he said.From that time on, the grandpa would follow the minor whenever she went to fetch water or firewood and continued to rape her, the court heard.

The matter came to light in February when the minor told an uncle about the ordeal. The court heard that the girl’s uncle told her mother and grandmother and she was taken to Nkayi District Hospital for a medical examination. The matter was also reported to the police. A medical report showing that she was raped was compiled and will be produced in court.