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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A 55-YEAR-OLD Tsholotsho man has appeared in court for fondling his 15-year-old niece and showing her his manhood in a bid to persuade her to be intimate with him.The juvenile was saved by passersby who heard her scream and intervened before the old man could rape the girl.

The accused who was determined to have sexual intercourse with his niece who is from Ndutshwa area in Bulilima, tried to scare the passersby with a log but they continued to advance and he eventually fled.

The old man was convicted of indecent assault by Plumtree magistrate, Gideon Ruvetsa.

He was sentenced to three months which were wholly suspended on condition that he performs 105 hours of community service at Nanda Primary School.

The accused at first denied the charges claiming that he had not opened his manhood for the complainant to see.

“I would never do something like that to my niece because I view her as my own child. I just met her while she was coming from a wedding and I had a little chat with her. I asked about the whereabouts of her parents,” he said.

He said the juvenile just screamed from nowhere during the conversation and alerted people who were passing through the area.

Prosecuting, Clemence Shawarira said the complainant met her uncle on December 29 last year in a bushy area.

“The complainant was coming from a wedding held at a neighbouring village when she met the accused. Her uncle started demanding sex from the complainant and she refused.

“He then grabbed her and pushed her  to the ground but the complainant managed to get back to her feet. The accused pushed  her to the ground for a second time and   pulled out his erect manhood,” said   Shawarira.

He said the accused then rubbed his erect manhood on the complainant’s thighs and begged to have sex with her. Shawarira said the complainant refused but the accused went on to touch her private parts with his hand and the complainant cried out for help.

“Paul Ndlovu and Ignatius Mpofu who were passing through the area rushed to the scene. The accused tried to scare them away with a log but later fled from the scene while the complainant fled to a nearby homestead,” he said.

Shawarira said villagers accompanied the complainant to her homestead where she narrated what had transpired to her father resulting in the accused’s arrest.

The accused later admitted to the  charges and begged for the court’s  leniency after citing that he was possessed by evil spirits.