BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
A 31-year-old man from Victoria Falls appeared in court on Monday facing two counts of rape against his 15-year-old daughter.
Elton Zibusiso Nyathi, was not asked to plead and was remanded in custody to September 30 at the Hwange Regional Court.
According to court records, Nyathi allegedly raped his daughter on two separate occasions. The first incident occurred on September 4, at around midnight, when Nyathi entered his daughter’s bedroom and forcibly had sexual intercourse with her without her consent and threatened to kill her if she reveals the matter to anyone.
The second incident occurred on September 9, at around 3 pm, when Nyathi dragged his daughter to his bedroom and again forcibly had sexual intercourse with her without her consent.
“Accused person who is the complainant’s father arrived at home and asked the complainant to cook potato chips for him,” the state records reads.
“The complainant then went to the kitchen to prepare the potato chips, the accused person then followed the complainant in the kitchen, grabbed the complainant’s hand and dragged her to his bedroom and locked the door. Whilst in the bedroom the accused person pushed the complainant to the floor and she fell down and he raped her.”
The court records indicate that Nyathi has a known record of previous convictions and has pending cases at court, including unlawful entry into premises.
The prosecution argued that Nyathi is likely to interfere with evidence and witnesses, given his relationship with the complainant, and is also likely to commit other offences. Additionally, the prosecution argued that Nyathi is likely to abscond due to the seriousness of the offence and the potential lengthy sentence he may face if convicted.
The magistrate, Gift Manyika, remanded Nyathi in custody, citing the seriousness of the offence and the need to protect the complainant and the community.