Zimbabwean National Sentenced to Life for Raping 13-Year-Old Daughter in South Africa<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zim GBC News | South African Correspondent<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THOHOYANDOU, Limpopo \u2013 A 39-year-old Zimbabwean man has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Sibasa Regional Court for the rape of his 13-year-old daughter, in a case described by prosecutors as a profound betrayal of trust and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court ordered that the man\u2019s name be added to the National Sexual Offenders Register. His identity is withheld to protect the victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the man brought his daughter from Zimbabwe to spend the school holidays with him in South Africa in August 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn arrival in Limpopo, the accused began to sexually violate the victim without her consent,\u201d said Mashudu Malabi, NPA Regional Spokesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe instructed her to remain silent, threatened to abandon her in South Africa if she spoke out, and isolated her from other children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The abuse was uncovered after a neighbour noticed the girl\u2019s withdrawn and unusual behaviour and alerted the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following an investigation, the accused was arrested and the minor was taken to the Tshilidzini Thuthuzela Care Centre for medical and psychosocial support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During sentencing, State Advocate Rabelani Makhera emphasised the severity of the crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis was not just a rape; it was a fundamental violation of a father\u2019s duty to protect,\u201d Advocate Makhera argued in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe accused abused his position of authority, betrayed the trust inherent in fatherhood, and showed a complete disregard for the principle of Ubuntu.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Victim Impact Report, compiled by state official Mulondo Ganuku, detailed the lasting trauma inflicted on the child, particularly because the perpetrator was her biological father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The state argued that there were \u201cno substantial and compelling circumstances\u201d to justify a departure from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NPA in Limpopo has welcomed the ruling. Limpopo Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Ivy Thenga, praised the role of the Thuthuzela Care Centres in supporting survivors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe expansion of the Thuthuzela Care Centre network\u2014now 64 centres nationwide\u2014continues to strengthen our fight against sexual and gender-based violence,\u201d Adv. Thenga said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis sentence sends a clear message that such atrocities, especially against children, will be met with the full might of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Zim GBC News | Global News From An African Perspective\u00a9\ufe0f2025<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Zimbabwean National Sentenced to Life for Raping 13-Year-Old Daughter in South Africa Zim GBC News | South African Correspondent THOHOYANDOU, Limpopo \u2013 A 39-year-old Zimbabwean man has been sentenced to… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11495"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11497,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11495\/revisions\/11497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}