Two men who last year broke into a primary school teacher’s house in Lower Gweru before assaulting and raping her in front of her children were this week each jailed to 37 years.
By Stephen Chadenga
The teacher has since been transferred to another school.
Gweru regional magistrate Phathekile Msipa sentenced Knowledge Prince Nkomo (26) and Hloniphani Sibanda (28) each to 20 years for rape, 10 years for attempted murder and seven years for unlawful entry.
Nkomo and Sibanda will, however, serve an effective 27 years each in jail after Msipa suspended nine-and-half years of their sentences on condition of good behaviour.
The State case was that on July 8 last year, Nkomo and Sibanda went to a local primary school and broke into a teacher’s house.
The two, armed with a knife, an iron bar and an axe, approached the complainant who was sleeping and threatened to kill her.
The accused searched the house and took away $15, five metres of pink and blue African attire material and a cellphone.
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Nkomo and Sibanda blind-folded the complainant and gang-raped her in front of her children. The duo also broke into another house at the same school and assaulted a male teacher who they found sleeping before taking his clothes.
The two were arrested this year in Bulawayo following a tip-off, leading to the recovery of some of the stolen property.
Prisca Kanhukamwe appeared for the State.
