A 25-year-old man from Chitungwiza has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of repeatedly raping his ex-girlfriend under the guise of ritual practices.
The Chitungwiza Magistrates’ Court heard that in February this year, the man contacted his former girlfriend, aged 23, and claimed he had used a condom from one of their past encounters in a ritual that could harm her and her loved ones.
He told her that unless the ritual was reversed, she, her parents, and her new boyfriend would die.
Out of fear, the woman agreed to accompany him to a dam on 19 March, where he threw a bottle containing a condom, a snake, a feather, and their names into the water.
Two days later, the offender returned to her and claimed the ritual had been done incorrectly. He told her she had to have sex either with him or with a lizard.
Although she initially refused him, he later pressured her by saying his sangoma insisted she must sleep with him. Terrified, she eventually went to his home, where he forced himself on her.
On 14 April, he again took her to a bushy area and raped her, offering money afterwards and threatening to dump it at her family’s house when she refused.
The harassment continued, and on 31 May he claimed his sangoma had warned that they had been seen burning the ritual items and that they needed to restart the process to save his life. He demanded further sexual encounters.
The victim finally confided in a friend, who took her to a pastor on 4 June. Following the pastor’s advice, she reported the abuse to the police, leading to the man’s arrest and conviction.
