AN 87-year-old Lupane man has been slapped with a 10-year jail term after being convicted of raping a five-year-old child who was on her way to visit her grandmother in the same village.

In a bid to evade justice, Simimba Ndlovu of Siziphile area in Lupane who appeared before Hwange regional magistrate, Mr Collet Ncube last week, claimed that he suffered from erectile dysfunction and hence could not have committed the offence.

He was, however, convicted of rape and sentenced to 10 years in prison of which five years were conditionally suspended meaning Ndlovu will serve an effective five years behind bars. He will come out of jail at 92.