One of Tatenda Ndoro’s* favourite pastime is to play football with his friend in a street in Mambo suburb, one of Gweru’s oldest high density suburbs.
The 10-year-old boy looks like any other kid living a normal life, yet his parents are in deep anguish over the sexual assault that their child endured in 2021.
Ndoro was only seven when he was allegedly sodomised by the son of a police constabulary, then 14.
Tatenda’s mother (38) said her son was abused in 2021, and since then, she has been trying to get justice for her child, but in vain.
The woman (who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim) said she reported the case to the police on November 11, 2021.
To date, no action has been taken against the culprit, she said.
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Our sister paper, NewsDay first reported the matter in 2022.
Last week Southern Eye on Sunday met the woman who said she suspected a cover up of the sexual violence against her son at Mtapa police station where the accused now 17-year-old boy’s father works as a police officer.
“I reported the matter in November 2021, but the suspect has not been arrested and no one has been taken to court,” she said with teary eyes.
“I strongly feel this issue has been swept under the carpet and l now feel helpless and l have just decided to live with the pain.”
A letter written to the mother by Gweru Urban district police station two years ago showed that she had lodged a complaint with Mtapa police station.
“In your letter you mentioned that you reported the case at Mtapa police station where your son (name given) was a victim of aggravated indecent assault,” read part of the letter dated April 28, 2022 gleaned by Southern Eye on Sunday .
“You stated that the accused (name given) is a son to one police constabulary named (name given).
“Due to this fact is your belief that this case has taken too long to come to courts as you suspect that the accused is being favoured as he is a police constabulary’s son.”
In 2022, police had promised to make sure that the issue would be fairly handled at Mtapa, but to date Ndoro is still to get justice for the abuse she suffered.
A medical report seen by this publication dated November 26, 2021 indicates that the boy had been “sexually abused several times” through anal sex.
The report also showed other tests including HIV, which were carried out before the doctor who medically examined the boy recommended counselling for the minor.
“Yes my son got counselling services, but the trauma of seeing the perpetrator walking freely in the streets as if nothing happened is too much to bear,” said Tatenda’s mother.
Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said his office had not received such a report.
“We, however encourage, aggrieved people under such circumstances to reach out to police and not suffer in silence,” he said.
Child sexual abuse is a serious human rights issue in Zimbabwe but the majority of cases are not reported because the perpetrators are either related or close to the abused children.
A 2016 Unicef report showed that 63% of children under the age of 14 experience emotional and physical abuse.
Although Zimbabwe ratified conventions aimed at protecting children, child sexual abuse is still rampant and Ndoro’s case is just one among many.
*Name changed to protect victim