30-year sentence for rapist of mentally incompetent teen in Mberengwa
ZVISHAVANE – Elvis Tungamirai Zhou, a resident of Village Magama Chief Mataga, Mberengwa, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by Zvishavane Regional Magistrate Sengster Tavengwa for raping an 18-year-old mentally incompetent woman.
According to the State, the court heard that on May 30, 2024, Zhou approached the complainant while she was fetching water at a borehole in Village Magama, Chief Mataga, Mberengwa. He deceived her into accompanying him to Utsanana Business Centre, promising to buy her jiggies.
The court was heard that Zhou then took the complainant to a disused hut and had unprotected sexual intercourse with her several times without her consent.
After the heinous act, Zhou locked the hut, leaving the complainant inside and he went to his homestead.
On May 31, 2024, Zhou returned to the disused hut and found the complainant still there. The accused person told the complainant that they were going to Madzibaba for cleansing at Mupandashungo area, instead took her to a bushy area near Mupandashungo Business Centre, Mberengwa, where he raped her again.
The complainant’s mother, Dadirai Kupfuma, discovered her daughter’s ordeal on June 1, 2024, and immediately reported the incident to the police. The complainant was taken to Mberengwa District Hospital for medical examination and Gweru Provincial Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
