HIV positive social worker rapes three sisters

Muzarabani - An HIV-positive social worker has been slapped with a 45-year jail term for raping three sisters aged 10, 14 and 16 and infecting them with the virus that causes Aids.

Johanne Mushange (38), who worked for the Muzarabani District Aids Council and was responsible for caring for the disadvantaged and people living with HIV and Aids, raped the girls after telling them that he could not give them food for free.

The sisters, whose parents are both mentally handicapped, were beneficiaries of the Muzarabani DAC and sometimes received food handouts from the organisation through Mushange.

Mushange had denied raping the three minors when he appeared before regional magistrate Mrs Mavis Kudumba, but was convicted on the back of overwhelming evidence adduced during trial.

Mushange was initially sentenced to 53 years behind bars, but Mrs Kudumba suspended eight years on condition he does not commit a similar offence in the next five years. The oldest victim is also mentally retarded.

The State, led by prosecutor Mr Munyaradzi Mataranyika, proved during trial that Mushange raped the three sisters in July this year after they, together with their parents, had moved to Muzarabani from Mt Darwin. The family used to survive on part-time jobs.

On July 7 Mushange  who is married met the girls and introduced himself to them as a social worker who could assist them to get food from the Muzarabani DAC.

He invited the sisters to his homestead to get some food to which they agreed. He gave them about 5kg of shelled maize, 200ml of cooking oil, a 100ml bottle of Vaseline, and two dried fish. Mushange told the girls to return to his house the following day to collect more food.

The next day they came back in the company of their father and Mushange gave them peas. On July 10, Mushange approached the family and asked the three sisters to again accompany him to his homestead for more food.  Mushange’s wife was not at home that day.

On arrival, he called the eldest sister to his bedroom and asked the other two sisters to prepare food outside. While the other two cooked a meal, Mushange raped the 16-year-old mental patient.

When he was done he released her and after about 30 minutes invited the 14-year-old into his bedroom and raped her once. Soon after releasing her, Mushange called the 10-year-old girl and again raped her once.

He then told them to eat the sadza that they had prepared and then dismissed them. The matter came to light on July 15 when a neighbour overhead the two younger sisters quarrelling on who between them should report the sexual assault to their mother.

The neighbour informed the mother and the two of them went to make a police report resulting in Mushange’s arrest. In passing sentence, Mrs Kudumba said the social worker had used his position to take advantage of the minors.

"You took advantage that the minors were vulnerable and that their parents and the elder sister were mentally retarded.

"You admitted that you are HIV positive which is an aggravating factor," Mrs Kudumba said.

She said the court needed to impose a deterrent sentence and send a signal to society that rape was a serious offence.  Mrs Kudumba said instead of protecting the vulnerable, which his employer paid him to do, Mushange chose to abuse his position.

"A lengthy custodial sentence will meet the justice of this case," Mrs Kudumba said.