Man caged for 16 years for “raping” his wife.

A Binga man will rue the day he decided to have sex with his wife without her consent after being sentenced to 16 years behind bars for rape. The man forced himself on his pregnant wife without her approval. He threatened to assault her with a log before raping her twice. It was alleged that the man waylaid his wife on her way to her parents home where she had fled to following misunderstandings between the two. He had threatened to beat her and force marched her to his house where he raped her.

The man(whose identity we cannot reveal in order to protect the identity of the pregnant wife) argued that sex was consensual and the rape charges were fabricated by the wife’s parents since they no longer wanted the two to live together. Hwange regional magistrate Collet Mcube however ruled that the man was guilty and sentenced him to 16 years with two years suspended on condition of good behaviour. In her ruling she remarked,”Your conduct is reprehensible. Your repeatedly engaged in the sexual activity against her will. You were unconcerned that she was pregnant”.

There have been mixed reactions to the judgment with some people saying the sentence was proper considering the nature of the offence. Others however claimed that a woman must give her husband his conjugal rights as stipulated in the Bible and recognised culturally.