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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A CRIME awareness campaign at Tjedza Primary School in Mangwe sold out a 17-year-old boy after his nine-year-old cousin revealed that he raped her.

The girl, a Grade Three pupil at the school, reported the matter to her teacher after facilitators urged school pupils to report cases of abuse. The accused person who is from Newdam area in Mangwe appeared before Plumtree magistrate Livard Philemon facing rape charges.

Prosecuting, Clemence Shawarira said the juvenile raped his cousin sister during the period extending from January to October last year.

The juvenile kept quiet about the incident and only came out in the open during the crime awareness campaign conducted by police officers.

“The accused person visited the complainant’s homestead and found her alone. He dragged her into the kitchen hut and raped her. The complainant tried to scream for help but no one heard her,” said Shawarira.

He said the accused person fled the scene and warned his cousin against reporting the matter.

Shawarira said the complainant revealed the matter to her teacher on October 6 last year. The complainant was taken for a medical examination which led to the arrest of the accused person.

The accused person was remanded in custody to February 2.

In a related incident, a 39-year-old Plumtree man allegedly ambushed his neighbour’s Grade Seven daughter and raped her at knife point while she was on her way home from school.

Prosecuting, Stanley Chinyanganya said Thabani Dumani of Sheraton Farm raped the complainant on January 15 at around 4PM.

“On her way home from school on January 15, the complainant proceeded to the shops to buy covers for her books. She met the accused person who followed her,” said Chinyanganya.

He said on the way Dumani stopped the juvenile and started accusing her of stealing money from the shop where she had bought stationery. Chinyanganya said the complainant dismissed the allegations and proceeded home. The accused person pretended to head towards the opposite direction. When the complainant reached a railway line, the accused person appeared from a bushy area and demanded to search the juvenile.

The complainant surrendered her school bag to the accused person but instead he threw it away and pulled her into the bush. He produced an Okapi knife and used it to rip off the juvenile’s uniform and told her that he wanted to punish her for stealing money,” said Chinyanganya.

He said Dumani then raped the complainant while holding a knife to her throat to stop her from screaming. The accused person fled from the scene after committing the offence and left the juvenile lying on the ground.

The complainant then proceeded home and told her aunt what had transpired and the matter was reported to the police, resulting in Dumani’s arrest.

Dumani who had fled from his house, was arrested at a friend’s house. He appeared before Plumtree magistrate Gideon Ruvetsa on initial remand facing rape charges.

He was remanded in custody to Friday.