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Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
A 50- year old self-styled prophet from Magwazhuri Village in Beitbridge’s Ward 5 was yesterday sentenced to  20 years in prison for raping his 14- year old sister in-law after threatening to kill her.

The accused raped the complainant several times between November last year and January this year.

He pleaded not guilty but was however convicted by Matabeleland South senior regional magistrate Mr Mark Dzira due to overwhelming evidence.

Mr Dzira sentenced him to an effective 20 years in jail.

Miss Nomathemba Sayi told the court that in November last year, the accused relocated from Mwenezi to Beitbridge with his wife and her sister.

She said while in Beitbridge, the complainant shared a bedroom with the accused, his wife and other children.

The court heard that during the night, the accused would sneak into the juvenile’s blankets and rape her.

He would threaten to kill her if she dared scream or alert anyone about the abuse.

Miss Sayi said the rape came to light on January 2 this year.

She said on the day in question the accused locked the girl in the room after raping her but later opened for her when she told him she wanted to go to the toilet.

The girl then took the opportunity to escape and reported the abuse to the accused’s former wife who subsequently reported the rape to the police.