Terrence Mawawa, Gutu | In yet another incident of sexual abuse, a pastoral elder of the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe(RCZ) raped his 12 year old niece claiming he wanted to merely feel the experience of having sex with the minor.
The man from Jaravani village in Gutu (name withheld to protect the juvenile’s identity), raped his niece after his wife had gone to the borehole to fetch some water for domestic use last month. The 57 year old man appeared before Gutu Magistrate Edwin Marecha facing rape charges. He pleaded with the courts for clemency saying he was a first time offender and a senior RCZ member.
The man claimed before Magistrate Marecha he only wanted to have first hand experience of how it feels to have sex with a minor.
“I can confirm that I called her(name supplied) in the kitchen when my wife had gone to the borehole. I forced her to sleep on the floor and removed her pants then I had sex with her. I did not enjoy the act as I expected because my manhood did not penetrate her small private parts. I continued until I ejaculated ,” said the accused during the court trial.
The accused person also claimed he did not intend to harm her but he just wanted to feel the experience saying he was a senior member of RCZ member. He also said he was officially ordained to wear the RCZ sash.
He pleaded with the magistrate to release him so that he could attend to his family while waiting for sentence. He was however remanded in custody and will appear before the Masvingo Regional Court magistrate next week.
Cases of paedophilic behaviour are on the increase in the country with analysts attributing the rise in such incidents to ritual beliefs-among other factors.