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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent 

AN Esigodini man has appeared in court for allegedly sexually abusing two minors aged five and eight years old on separate occasions after one of them opened up after a Guidance and Counselling lesson at school.

Blessing Siziba (25) of Bafazi Resettlement are reportedly raped the five-year-old and fondled the breasts of the eight-year-old twice.

Siziba pleaded not guilty to two counts of performing indecent acts with a young person and a rape charge when he appeared before Gwanda regional magistrate, Mr Mark Dzira.

 He was remanded in custody to Friday for judgment.

In his defence, Siziba said he never committed the offence and accused the complainants’ aunt of fabricating the allegations.

“I didn’t commit the offence Your Worship. Such acts are not something I would do as they are morally wrong. The aunt of the complainants was once my girlfriend and I dumped her and this left her angry. I’m sure that she is the one who advised her nieces to fabricate these allegations against me in order to fix me,” he said.

Prosecuting, Mr Blessing Gundani said Siziba sexually abused the children sometime last year. 

He said the juveniles remained quiet about the matter until January this year when the eight-year-old reported the matter to her Guidance and Counselling teacher after a lesson on sexual abuse.

“On a date unknown to the prosecutor but during the year 2018 the eight-year-old juvenile was playing with her friends at Siziba’s homestead. 

“The juvenile tripped and fell down as they were playing and Siziba helped her to her feet and in the process fondled her breasts.

“On a different day the juvenile was playing outside her aunt’s homestead and Siziba who was passing by the road fondled her breasts and went away. The juvenile remained quiet about the two incidents,” he said.

Mr Gundani said on another day, the five-year-old juvenile was playing with her friends at Siziba’s homestead and he called her into his bedroom. 

Siziba then raped the juvenile and threatened to kill her if she revealed the matter to anyone. 

Mr Gundani said the juvenile told her eight-year-old sister what had happened.

He said in January this year the eight-year-old was taught about sexual abuse by her Guidance and Counselling teacher at school and after the lesson she told her teacher that Siziba had sexually abused her and her young sister.

The matter was reported to the police on January 18 resulting in Siziba’s arrest. – @DubeMatutu