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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Reporter

POLICE in Bulawayo have arrested a 37-year-old man from Njube suburb who allegedly raped his niece (17) sometime in 2019 before the family connived to keep the issue a secret.

The matter came to light when members of the public tipped off police officers who investigated and discovered that the girl’s grandmother was deliberately hiding the girl to defeat the cause of justice.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said the girl resides with the alleged rapist, and the grandmother who is the mother of the accused person.

“Police received a tip-off to the effect that the complainant was sexually abused by the accused person. Efforts to locate the complainant were fruitless as the complainant’s grandmother kept on hiding her in a bid to defeat the course of justice,” said Insp Ncube.

“On March 23, 2023, the complainant was located and interviewed by the police. She revealed that sometime in early 2019, the accused person asked her to collect his shoes from the bedroom. The accused person then followed to the bedroom where he grabbed the complainant by her hands, forced her to lie on the bed, and stuffed a pair of old socks into her mouth”

Insp Ncube said the man raped his niece once threatening to beat her if she told anyone about the incident.

“As police, we are advising members of the public to report as early as possible when such incidents occur. This will help the victim to get help to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. We also urge members of the public not to conceal rape cases, any attempt to handle rape cases as families are tantamount to defeating the course of justice.” – @thamamoe