Ex-Army officer jailed 10 years over niece’s rape

A 68-year-old retired army officer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of raping his teenage niece in a case that remained concealed for nearly a decade.

Mutare regional magistrate Sekai Chiwundura on Tuesday sentenced Harry Peter Mangani to what she described as a “flat 10 years imprisonment” after finding him guilty of raping the complainant in 2016 when she was 18 years old.

The court heard that Mangani, a retired Colonel who was aged 58 at the time, sexually assaulted the complainant at his homestead where they lived together as family.

Prosecutor George Nyatsuro told the court that the incident occurred in June 2016 after Mangani entered the complainant’s unlocked bedroom while she was asleep.

Evidence presented during trial showed that the complainant did not immediately report the matter due to fear and intimidation. The case only surfaced last year after she sought advice from close associates before filing a report at Harare Central Police Station.

In passing sentence, magistrate Chiwundura said the court had taken into account the large age gap between the offender and the complainant, as well as the abuse of trust involved.

“The age difference between the two was just too much,” she said.

The magistrate noted that Mangani had acted as a guardian figure to the complainant, who was an orphan at the time of the offence.

“This is his niece. It is a case of abused trust and also of a prohibited relationship,” Chiwundura said.

The court also heard that the complainant believed she was safe within the family home.

“Because this girl was an orphan, he took advantage of the situation,” the magistrate said.

“It happened at their homestead where they lived together with the victim and she thought she was safe at home, but Mr Mangani took advantage of that.”

Chiwundura said the seriousness of the offence and the breach of familial trust warranted a custodial sentence without leniency.

Mangani had pleaded not guilty during the trial.

Court proceedings revealed that after the assault, the complainant remained traumatised and fearful, while the accused allegedly continued using his authority within the family to silence her.

The sentencing brings to an end a case that had drawn attention in Mutare because of the lengthy delay in reporting the matter and the close family relationship between the offender and the complainant.