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Thandeka Moyo  Court Reporter
AN employee of Manor Hotel in Bulawayo allegedly turned his niece into a sex slave, raping her on countless occasions for a period of six months, a magistrate heard yesterday.The man, 38, who stays with the 22-year-old niece in Pelandaba suburb, would rape her whenever his wife left the house.

He appeared before regional magistrate Chrispen Mberewere facing rape charges and was remanded out of custody to April 28.

Prosecuting Robin Mukura alleges that sometime in mid-2014, the man was left with his niece and started caressing her all over the body but she quickly pushed him away.

Mukura said the man went on to lock the kitchen door, blocking her from going out of the house. The man forced her to lie on the floor and raped her once.

After raping her, the man threatened his niece with death if she revealed the matter to anyone, the court heard.

From that day, the man has allegedly been raping his niece frequently using the same modus operandi. Mukura said he would commit the rape whenever his wife was away.

The court heard that on January 28 at around 8.30AM, the two were alone in the house and the man entered his niece’s bedroom without knocking.

He found her dressing up and started fondling her but she escaped to the sitting room half-naked.

Mukura said her uncle followed her and pushed her onto a sofa before raping her.

After the incident, the woman decided to make a police report leading to the arrest of the man.