AFTER spending four months behind bars for a rape he never committed, the father of the nine-year-old girl from Tsholotsho cannot wait to see his daughter, the one he was accused of impregnating.
In an exclusive interview with Sunday News on Friday the 29-year-old man said this would bring closure and peace to his soul.
“Have you seen her yet? How is she? Does she look okay,” were the first things that the father asked after meeting this reporter.
Although he longs to see his daughter the man said he is financially constrained to make the journey to Bulawayo to the safe house where she is being kept.
He was given a not guilty verdict by the courts last Monday.
Sunday News tracked down the father and found him “cooling off “ at Tsholotsho Centre where he freely narrated his harrowing ordeal with teary eyes.
The “goblin” explained
“Our child was ill from October 2020 and she was assisted by a prophetess who was known by my wife who prayed for her. She had started developing breasts at seven years old and the prophetess said my daughter was being used by a goblin that was having sexual intercourse with her. My wife and her mother, that is my mother-in-law are the ones who went to visit the prophetess and stayed there for two weeks,” he said.
The man said upon their return they were informed that the child was not supposed to enter the homestead until the “spell” cast upon her was removed and that is when she went to live at her maternal grandparents’ home for a year.
She returned home in November last year and they were informed that she was now menstruating and the girl’s mother and her maternal grandmother visited yet another healer who said the menstruation could not be stopped.
When her stomach started bulging the parents never panicked as the prophetess had told them that the stomach was “full of dirt” as a result of having sex with the goblin. However, her school grades had dropped.
“We were summoned by the school teacher who said my daughter’s grades had dropped dismally and she also prayed for our daughter.
“The menstruation stopped and it was assumed the prayers were now effective yet the child was pregnant. She, however, complained of stomach pains and was taken to the local clinic and eventually Tsholotsho District Hospital where it was confirmed that she was over six months pregnant and the matter was referred to the police.”
“At the police station we were told we had to be questioned individually about what was happening to the child and I assumed it was all in order. I was not questioned but I was simply handcuffed and accused of raping my daughter and impregnating her.
I was shocked. One police officer scoffed at me and said ngiluthango oluzidlele amakhomane,” said the father.
He said the following weeks were horrific as he was behind bars for a case he knew nothing about while at the same time that his daughter was pregnant at such an early age. He said he initially appeared at the Tsholotsho Magistrate Courts to answer to rape charges on the first of September 2022 and was remanded to 15 November.
After his appearance in court, the father said he requested for DNA tests to be conducted in a bid to gain his freedom.
“They told me it was too expensive and I could not afford it and I told them that was the only way I was going to be exonerated because I did not want to die in prison. I also failed to secure bail during that period.
“Around 23 November 2022 I was then informed that I would get a DNA test. I also asked that the four other males who lived with us at home also be tested as they equally had access to my child and that was done,” he said.
On 29 November he said he was summoned to court. “The Magistrate told me that the State had done their investigations and proved that I was not guilty of rape and impregnating my child as DNA results had come out negative.
However, this verdict was opposed by a prosecutor who said my case must be transferred to the Bulawayo Regional Courts. I was devastated as I had been discharged but being told that I had to start afresh and appear in court in Bulawayo.
The Magistrate queried this but I was still transferred where I was held at Khami Remand Prison,” he said.
He, however, had fears of being attacked in prison over the sensitivity of his matter.
“I was very scared in prison; we hear of inmates attacking others if they know of their offences. I did not want anyone to know that I was being accused of rape. I feared for the worst,” he said.
On 8 December he appeared in court in Bulawayo and his frustrations grew as there seemed to be no breakthrough in his case and was told to return on 15 December.
“I went to court and was told that my record was nowhere to be found both in Tsholotsho and Bulawayo courts and should return on 19 December. I lost it. I was very disturbed and had given up on myself, I assumed I had another new case to answer,” he said.
“Later, on the same day I was finally discharged. They told me that I was not guilty on the count of rape and that I was a free man. I blacked out, I could not believe it, after a moment light shone in my eyes and I could see clearly. I failed to walk; I was still in leg irons. It was a great relief,” he said.
He was finally released from Khami Prison on Tuesday 20 December.
However, he said he has lost all the jobs he had been contracted to do in the village and beyond so he is appealing for assistance to get his life back. He is a builder. He said trust and confidence in him by the community was lost during the time he was in prison.
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