Grandma raped “for the sins of her granddaughter”

In a rather bizarre incident, a 72-year-old woman from Mgadla village in Matobo District, Matabeleland South Province was allegedly raped by her granddaughter’s 22-year-old ex-lover to pay off a debt.

The woman, whose name is being withheld for ethical reasons, was raped by the alleged 22-year-old, but he was acquitted by the court after the grandmother was unable to positively identify him in court. Last week, the victim sobbed as she recounted how the young man allegedly broke into her house at midnight and raped her.

“Sometime in May, around 2 a.m., I heard voices outside and assumed they were coming from passersby. After a few minutes, a man broke down the door to my bedroom and threatened to slit my throat if I screamed. I asked him why he wanted to rape me at my age and he said that genitals are the same regardless of age. I tried to scream and he covered my mouth, undressed me and raped me three times without protection,” she said.

She stated that the rapist had suggested that she wanted to pay off the debts of her granddaughter, who no longer lived with her.

“While he was raping me, he said my granddaughter owed him money and I would pay back the debt. He left my house at dawn and promised to return the same week. We reported the matter to the police,” she said.

The victim’s neighbor stated that the victim informed her about the incident that morning.

“The victim came to my house and informed me about the incident. I went to her house accompanied by my grandson and some neighbourhood watchmen. They followed the footprints which led them to the suspect’s house and when they reached the house, he was still wearing the same shoes and was taken to the police. I took the victim to the clinic and it was confirmed that she had been raped and the medical report showed that she was infected with a sexually transmitted disease,” she said.

A community member, Austin Ndlovu, said the woman lived alone and was therefore exposed to criminals.

“The suspect is known to the villagers. I think the challenge for us is that the old woman lives alone and is therefore exposed to a number of perpetrators. There are times when she goes missing and the night before the rape, I met the suspect at the victim’s gate on her way home,” he said.

Ndlovu added that community members must work together to ensure justice is done for the victim.

“The challenge for us as a community is that we are not united and the elders of our community are subjected to such tragic incidents. I believe we need to come together and ensure that the perpetrator is brought to justice,” he said.

Village chief Prayford Sibanda said they would assist police with their investigations.

“The case was reported to the police but the challenge was that the evidence linking the suspect to the crime was only footprints. During the trial (in court), the victim stated that she did not recognise the perpetrator’s face and the suspect was released. As a community, we are supporting the police to investigate further as this is not the first case of its kind in the community and we will not rest until the perpetrator is caught,” Sibanda said.

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