A 50- year old taxi driver is standing accused of raping his daughter on several occasions which resulted in her falling pregnant as part of rituals to boost his business.

The Epworth man is also standing accused of renting for his daughter with whom he has sired a child in a bid to take her away from other relatives and create room to continue to raping her for ritual purposes. The child is now five years old, according to the state .As if that was not enough, the man traveled all the way to Inyanga to consult a Sangoma who would help him conceal the se_xual offenses. But luck ran out for him after the Sangoma called the police leading to his arrest.

The man, whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of his now 20-year old daughter, was taken to Harare magistrates` court charged with rape. He was not asked to plead to the charges when he appeared before Tendai Mahwe who advised him to approach the High Court for bail application.

Allegations are that sometime in 2010 the then 14-year old was with her father at their house in Epworth doing household chores. Her father then approached her and dragged her into his bedroom where he raped her. The woman informed her friends and neighbors also got to know of the se_xual abuse which prompted her to relocate to Harare`s Avenues area where he would come to pick her up with his taxi. 

He would allegedly take her to different lodges located in Queensdale and Mugoni lodges near the Kopje where he would allegedly rape her. She later fell pregnant and but did not disclose the person who was responsible for the pregnancy. The woman later went to stay at Hopely Farm with her brothers where she also opened up to a female neighbor. She told the woman about how she was raped and impregnated by her father. The neighbor later told her brother named knowledge about the issue.

It is said that her brother neglected her until she disclosed to them that she was impregnated by their father.The two brothers approached their grandfather seeking a way forward concerning the matter. Her grandfather solved the matter amicably at family level without involving the police. Her father started renting a house for her and her child in Retreat Waterfalls where he would visit and rape her, according to the state.

In May 2016, an unknown informer wrote a note concerning these rape issues and placed them in police suggestion boxes in Chitungwiza and Waterfalls. The matter was investigated at Epworth police station. The court heard that her father then fled to Ruwangwe area in Inyanga to seek cleansing from a popular traditional healer named Sithole so that the matter would not be pursued by the police. But the Sangoma phoned a police officer from Ruwangwe police station leading to his arrest. The man is expected to back in court today.

Source-H metro