A boarding master at Washington Hills High School will perform 350 hours of community service at Waterfalls Clinic after he was last week convicted of fondling the breasts of a 15-year-old pupil.

Harare magistrate Mrs Sharon Rakafa convicted Alouis Mhondiwa of indecent assault on a young person, sentencing him to 18 months in prison.

She suspended eight months on condition of future good behaviour and suspended the remaining 10 months on condition that Mhondiwa performs 350 hours of community service at Waterfalls Clinic.
During trial, the girl told the court how Mhondiwa had invited her to his home.

“The first day we had gone to the dining hall for studies and a female guard sent me with her phone to the accused person,” she said. “That was when we arranged how we would meet later that night.

“I managed to sneak out of the hostels with three of my friends that were also going to meet their boyfriends. I went to his house. He began touching me and I started feeling different and requested to leave. When I returned to the hostels I told my friend about the incident and planned to return back to the accused person’s residence.”

Prosecutor Talkmore Muganhiri told the court that on August 23, at around 9pm, the teenager went to Mhondiwa’s residence and he began fondling the child’s breast without her consent.

The school authorities heard of the matter and the incident was reported to the police, leading to Mhondiwa’s arrest. – state media