A 34-YEAR-OLD man from Pioneer village in Fort Rixon, Matabeleland South, who has been on the run for the past three years after allegedly raping his 12-year-old niece, has been arrested.
The man was not asked to plead when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Collect Ncube on Tuesday this week. He was remanded in custody to December 20 for trial.
Ncube said the man disappeared three years ago to evade arrest. According to court papers, on July 18, 2020, the uncle went to Mzilikazi high-density suburb in Bulawayo to visit his grandmother where the juvenile was also visiting.
The man and the juvenile were sharing the grandmother’s dining room at night, while the grandmother and her husband shared the bedroom at the two-roomed house.
The court heard the man allegedly woke up at around 3am, went to where the juvenile was sleeping and slipped into her blankets and forcibly removed her underwear. She tried to scream, but he tightly held her mouth.
The court was told that the man raped her once before returning to his place.
The matter came to light after the juvenile revealed the alleged rape to her grandmother who reported the matter to the police. Moyo was arrested on Saturday last week in Fort Rixon.
The court heard that the juvenile was medically examined and the medical report will be produced in court as an exhibit.