THE mother of a sodomised Gweru boy has resurrected the fight for justice for her son by engaging police in Gweru to consider a relook into the matter.
The 10-year-old boy was aged seven when he was sodomised by the son of a police officer. The police officer’s son was 14 when he allegedly committed the crime.
The boy's mother (38) said her son was abused in 2021 and since then she has been trying to get justice for her child in vain.
“I wrote to police recently to look into the matter of my son but up to now there is no response," she said.
"If they don't respond by Christmas time, l will take the matter further up to police headquarters. My son was abused and the police can't take this soft approach to the matter. I will fight for justice."
The woman (who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim) said she reported the case to the police on November 11, 2021 but to date no action had been taken against the suspect.
NewsDay first reported the matter in 2022.
She said she suspected a cover up of the sexual violence against her son at Mtapa Police Station where the accused’s father works as a police officer.
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The suspect is now 17.
“I reported the matter in November 2021 but the suspect has not been arrested and no one has been taken to court,” she said.
“I strongly feel this issue has been swept under the carpet and l now feel helpless and l have just decided to live with the pain.”
A letter addressed to the mother from Gweru Urban District Police Station, which was written two years ago, showed that the victim's mother lodged a complaint at Mtapa Police Station.
“In your letter you mentioned that you reported the case at Mtapa Police Station where your son (name given) was a victim of aggravated indecent assault,” read part of the letter dated April 28, 2022 gleaned by NewsDay.
“You stated that the accused (name given) is a son to one police constabulary named (name given). Due to this fact is your belief that this case has taken too long to come to court as you suspect that the accused is being favoured as he is a police constabulary’s son.”
During that time police promised to make sure that the issue will be fairly handled at Mtapa but to date the victim is still to get justice for the abuse he suffered.
A medical report seen by this publication dated November 26, 2021 indicates that the boy had been “sexually abused several times” through anal sex.
The report also showed other tests including HIV which were carried out before the doctor who medically examined the boy recommended counselling for the minor.
“Yes my son got counselling but the trauma of seeing the perpetrator walking freely on the streets as if nothing happened is too much to bear,"said the mother.
Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko said his office had not received such a report.
“We, however, encourage aggrieved people under such circumstances to reach out to police and not suffer in silence,” he said.
Child sexual abuse is a serious human rights issue in Zimbabwe but the majority of cases are not reported because the perpetrators are either related or close to the abused children.
A 2016 Unicef report showed that 63% of children under the age of 14 experience emotional or physical abuse.
Although Zimbabwe ratified conventions aimed at protecting children, child sexual abuse is still rampant and the victim's case is just one among many.
