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Thandeka Moyo Court Reporter
A GRADE 7 pupil at Mafakela Primary School in Bulawayo’s Luveve suburb allegedly bullied a nine-year-old pupil by forcing him to miss school for several days and taking him to a park where he would sodomise him.The 12-year-old bully, who cannot be named for legal reasons, would also eat his victim’s food and at one time took his uniforms.

He would divert the boy, a Grade 4 pupil at the same school, from school and order him to go to the library and thereafter drag him to Luveve Park and force him to have anal sex.

At one time, the terrorised boy failed to attend school for two weeks.

The crime came to light when the abused boy’s grandmother noticed that he was acting “weird” in June last year.

Appearing before regional magistrate Sikhumbuzo Nyathi yesterday, the alleged bully pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated indecent assault.

He said he never sodomised the boy.

Taking the witness stand, the boy said the bully began by snatching his satchel and eating his food every time during break time at school.

“That is how it started and a few days before he put ‘his pencil’ (penis) on my anus. This boy took my jersey and shoes. It was during winter and he threatened to assault me if I told anyone and because I was scared of assault, I endured the cold,” he said breaking down in tears.

He also told the court that the bully forced him to skip school and instead would take him to the park where he sodomised him twice.

The victim’s grandmother also gave her testimony and said it was his grandson’s missing school jersey and shoes that exposed the bully.

“I got home during the month of June and was surprised when my grandson did not welcome me at the gate like he normally did. He spent the whole evening acting weird and I gave him pain killers thinking he was not feeling well,” she said.

“The next day I noticed he wanted to go to school without his shoes and jersey and when I inquired he said he left them at school. I accompanied him to school and when I got there the teacher told me that he was last seen at school two weeks ago and that an official from the library even complained saying he spent more days at the library than at school.”

She also said her grandson was questioned why he had not been reporting for school and he refused to speak out.

His silence was broken when his mother came and took him to the police on June 26.

“When we got to the police station, he opened up and told us that he had been sodomised by a bully who had been eating his food and grabbing his clothes at school.”

Prosecuting, Masimba Saruwaka said on June 20 2013 at 9AM, the boy was at Luveve Library where he was doing his studies.

“After finishing his studies he then went outside where he met the accused who grabbed him and headed with him towards Luveve Park,” he said.

“He tried to resist but the bully threatened to assault him. While at the park, the bully forcibly removed the boy’s trousers and as the boy tried to dress up, the bully assaulted him with booted feet and the boy fell down.

“After he fell, the bully sodomised him before ordering him to dress up and go home”.

Saruwaka said the second incident happened at around 7AM the next day when the boy left home for the library.

“On his way he met the bully who asked to be accompanied to Luveve Park and the boy refused. The bully then forcibly led the boy to the same park and again removed his trousers before sodomising him”, he said.

Magistrate Nyathi remanded the matter to September 2.