Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping job seeker

Ivan Zakata
Herald Correspondent

A 26-year-old man from Bulawayo has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping a jobseeker to whom he promised employment.
The man was charged before the Western Commonwealth District Court in Bulawayo with three counts of rape.
The court heard that in March 2024, a 17-year-old girl sent a message on a WhatsApp group where she was looking for a job.
On May 1, 2024, she received a message from a man who claimed that his grandmother from Cowdray Park in Bulawayo needed a maid.
The complainant was travelling from Plumtree to Bulawayo on 5 May 2024 and met a man who was travelling with two friends.
The man took the complainant to a beer garden and then to his home in Mpopoma.
The court heard that the man promised to take the girl to Cowdray Park the following morning.
The court heard that when the complainant went to bed, the man entered the room where she was sleeping and raped her twice during the night and once in the morning.
The case came to light when the complainant filed a police complaint, which led to the arrest of the accused.