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Melody Baya Court Reporter
A FORM Four pupil at Njube High School in Bulawayo has been arraigned for allegedly raping three primary school girls.

The 16-year-old boy, whose name cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, allegedly raped the minors aged 8, 10 and 11 years on three different occasions.

The court heard that the three girls, who are not related, all live in Njube suburb. The boy yesterday appeared before Western Commonage magistrate Themba Chimiso facing three counts of rape. He was not asked to plead and remanded out of custody to June 6. The juvenile will be in the custody of his guardian until the matter is finalised, prosecutors said.

Prosecuting, Mufaro Mageza said the boy allegedly raped two of the girls this year and the other one last year. Mageza said in the first incident, the juvenile allegedly asked his 10-year-old victim to accompany him to the shops to buy electricity before he took advantage of her in January this year.

“On January 28, 2016 at around 2PM, the complainant was at her place of residence when the accused person arrived and asked her to accompany him to the grocery shops. The complainant agreed and while the two were walking, the accused person diverted to a certain house where he unlocked the door and got inside with the complainant,” said Mageza. “The accused locked the door and led the girl inside a bedroom where he forced her to lie down before he had sexual intercourse with her.”

He said the boy also lured an eight-year-old girl using mangoes earlier this year. “During the month of January 2016 at around 2PM, the complainant was playing with her friend when the accused person arrived at her place of residence. The accused person asked her to accompany him to run an errand at a house after promising to give her some mangoes and she complied,” said Mageza. “The accused led the girl to a house where they got inside and he locked the door. He then forcibly grabbed the girl and had sexual intercourse with the minor without her consent.”

He said in 2015, an 11-year-old girl was playing with her friends at her house when the juvenile joined them.

“The accused person lured the complainant into a room that is under construction and made her to lie down on the floor. He forcibly removed her clothes and lay on top of her where he had sexual intercourse with her” said Mageza.