State Media|A 36-YEAR-OLD man from Esigodini has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping his 14-year-old niece after claiming to be in love with her.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, pleaded not guilty to rape when he appeared before Gwanda regional magistrate, Mr Mark Dzira.

He was convicted and sentenced to an effective 20 years in jail.

Prosecuting, Mr Khumbulani Nyoni said the man raped his niece on August 24 after he met her in a bushy area while she was on her way home from a neighbour’s homestead.

“On 24 August at around 8AM, the complainant was sent by her mother to deliver a bucket of maize at a neighbour’s homestead.

“On her way she found her uncle sleeping on a rock but she passed him and proceeded on her way. On her way back at around 1PM on the same day, she found her uncle still on the rock but he was now awake.

“The accused person approached the complainant and shook her hand as a way of greeting her. He then dragged her and told her that he had loved her for a very long time,” he said.

Mr Nyoni said the accused person dragged the complainant into a nearby bush and raped her.

He then warned her against reporting the matter to anyone.

The prosecutor said the complainant went home and reported to her mother what had transpired. The matter was reported to the police resulting in the arrest of the accused person.

In his defence, the accused person denied raping his niece and accused his relatives of fabricating the allegations to spite him.

“I didn’t commit the offence Your Worship as alleged.

“I never met the complainant on the day and I didn’t go anywhere near the place they say I committed the offence.

“The complainant is my niece and therefore I see her as my own daughter as she is my brother’s child and there is no way I could have done such a terrible thing to her.

“Her family is just fabricating the allegations in order to get back at me for a misunderstanding I had with them,” he said.