MARTIN MAWAYA
GWERU-A 22-year-old Lower Gweru man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping a 70-year-old grandmother after breaking into her bedroom in the middle of the night.
Elton Sibanda of Mkombo Village under Chief Bunina pleaded guilty to rape before Gweru regional magistrate Sibongile Marondedze, who convicted him on his own plea.
The court heard that on June 15, Sibanda forced his way into the complainant’s bedroom while she was sleeping with her two young grandchildren aged five and two.
After overpowering the elderly woman, Sibanda sexually assaulted her repeatedly before fleeing in the early hours of the morning.
The traumatised complainant later alerted her daughter, triggering a community manhunt.
Villagers reportedly tracked the suspect using shoe prints to Gondongwe Mine, where he was apprehended and handed over to police.
Prosecutor Monica Mungwena told the court that the complainant, a housekeeper, was left devastated by the attack and no longer feels safe in her home.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said she never imagined such an ordeal could happen to her at her age and was struggling to cope with the psychological effects of the attack.
Passing sentence, Marondedze said the aggravating factors overwhelmingly outweighed any mitigation, noting that Sibanda had preyed on a vulnerable and defenceless woman old enough to be his grandmother.
The court further noted that the offender exposed the complainant to the risk of sexually transmitted infections before imposing a 15-year custodial sentence.
