Gweru City Council security officer imprisoned for raping mentally challenged woman
By Dumisani Ndlovu
A Gweru City Council security guard will regret for more than ten years after Gweru Regional Court Magistrate, Christopher Maturure convicted him of raping a mentally challenged woman.
He was sentenced 15 years in prison for raping and impregnating his landlord’s 26-year-old mentally challenged daughter. The guard, who was employed as a pump station guard by the local authority, had pleaded not guilty to the charge of rape when he appeared before Gweru Regional Magistrate Christopher Maturure ¹.
According to the State’s case, led by Talent Tadenyika, the guard had been renting a room at a house in Athlone suburb, Gweru, where the complainant’s mother was his landlord. He had also been paying the woman to look after his two-year-old child. However, in June, the guard raped the woman twice in his bedroom and threatened to kill her if she disclosed the matter to anyone.
The woman’s mother only discovered the truth when she noticed that her daughter was pregnant. When confronted, the woman revealed that the guard had raped her without using protection. A police report was filed, leading to the guard’s arrest.
In his sentencing remarks, Magistrate Maturure emphasized the need to protect vulnerable members of the community from abuse. “The accused is convicted of a serious offence of raping a mentally challenged woman who is his landlord’s daughter. The accused should have been the one protecting her, but he turned out to be her abuser,” said Maturure.
The guard had claimed that he was unaware of the woman’s mental condition and that they had consensual sexual intercourse. However, the court rejected his defense and found him guilty of rape.
The case highlights the importance of protecting vulnerable members of society, particularly those with mental disabilities. It also emphasizes the need for perpetrators of sexual violence to be held accountable for their actions.
