By Emmanuel Munyati
A 16 year old girl survived a 3 year period of continuous sexual abuse perpetrated by her biological father.
Emilda Mushaya of Katsande Secondary school in Mutoko was rapped for 3 years by her father. The daughter of Josiah Mushaya narrated how her father raped her for three years before she got traumatised. Emilda told the police that her father started rapping her in 2011 when she was 16, her mother was not aware of this habit as the father sexually abused his daughter when the wife was away. This habit continued until October this year when her father was arrested. Asked why she did not report in the first encounter Emilda said she was afraid of loss of family income as the father was the only breadwinner, “my father also told me that he will kill me if I tell anyone about the sexual abuse and that is why I could not report” she added.
The 16 year old girl is doing her form four at Katsande Secondary School; she was influenced to report to the police by her peers at school after she disclosed her traumatic experience. She reported the matter on the 29th of October and Josiah was arrested the following day.
Josiah denied the allegations and is in remand at Mutoko prison waiting for his trial.
The father of the sexually abused minor was working at Katsande Youth Friendly Centre as a caretaker. The centre is run under the auspices of the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC)
One of his church mates decried Josiah’s unrepentant behaviour citing this incident as a repetition of what happened in 1995 when he was a pastor at United Methodist Church in Mudzi where he is said to have impregnated his fellow pastor’s daughter. He was immediately expelled from the church after the incident.
“I think Josiah is possessed by evil spirits and he needs total deliverance because he is becoming a social misfit”, said one of his church fellows.
Some communities in Mutoko are still deeply rooted in cultural and traditional systems that are harmful for women. Young girls are at a higher risk of such practices like kuripa ngozi, early child marriages and sexual abuse
Young women in remote areas grow up with little or no information concerning their rights and this deficiency make them more vulnerable to men who take advantage of their masculinity and dominance over women in the society. It is therefore imperative for the government and other non-state actors to educate young girls on their rights in order for them to become the custodians of their own destiny.
