A 23-year-old Bulawayo man has received an effective 25-year prison sentence for raping a 16-year-old girl after threatening her with a screwdriver and later breaking into three homes across the city.
The Bulawayo Regional Magistrates' Court convicted the man of rape and three counts of unlawful entry for crimes he committed between August and October.
The National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) said the man entered a house in Northend, Bulawayo, on Aug. 26, where he found the teenager alone.
He threatened her with a screwdriver, forced her to undress and raped her.
More than a month later, the man carried out two separate home invasions within an hour on Oct. 5.
“At approximately 9:10 a.m., he entered a house along Williams Road through an unlocked door and stole US$537,” read the NPA statement in part.
“He then threatened a woman inside the house with a kitchen knife and took an additional US$7.
Less than an hour later, he broke into another house along Matheyson Road using an iron bar.”
Armed with a kitchen knife, he demanded cash from the occupant, who surrendered US$12.
On Oct. 8, the man broke into another house in Paddonhurst using an iron bar and a screwdriver but fled before stealing anything.
Police subsequently arrested him and brought him before the Bulawayo Regional Magistrates' Court.
The court sentenced him to 20 years for rape, two years each for the first two counts of unlawful entry and one year for the third count.
The sentences amount to an effective 25-year prison term.
