BULAWAYO
—
A
kombi
driver
who
sexually
abused
his
ex-girlfriend’s
14-year-old
sister
has
been
sentenced
to
three
years
in
prison
after
his
crime
was
exposed
through
a
bizarre
chain
of
events
triggered
by
the
teenager
kidnapping
a
two-year-old
baby.
Godwell
Mumba,
36,
pleaded
guilty
to
having
sexual
intercourse
with
a
minor
before
Bulawayo
provincial
magistrate
Themba
Chimiso
on
Monday.
Mumba
told
the
court
he
had
previously
been
in
a
relationship
with
the
victim’s
older
sister
and
had
since
“fallen
in
love”
with
the
younger
girl.
He
claimed
he
believed
she
was
old
enough
to
consent
because
she
had
told
him
she
was
already
a
mother.
Magistrate
Chimiso
was
unmoved.
He
said
Mumba’s
prior
relationship
with
the
family
placed
him
in
a
position
of
trust,
one
he
had
exploited
rather
than
honoured.
“Since
you
were
in
love
with
her
sister,
you
were
in
a
position
of
trust
and
you
were
supposed
to
protect
the
child,
but
instead
you
sexually
violated
her,”
Chimiso
said.
The
magistrate
described
Mumba
as
a
sexual
predator
who
had
groomed
the
girl
over
an
extended
period
from
January
this
year
until
last
week,
warning
that
the
ordeal
would
leave
lasting
scars
on
the
victim.
“It
is
the
duty
of
the
court
to
protect
the
girl
child
from
sexual
predators
like
you,”
he
said.
Prosecutor
Samuel
Mpofu
noted
that
Mumba
was
double
the
teenager’s
age
and
had
full
knowledge
that
she
was
below
the
age
of
consent.
He
successfully
argued
for
a
custodial
sentence.
Pleading
for
leniency,
Mumba
said
he
was
married
with
a
nine-year-old
child
and
was
his
family’s
sole
breadwinner.
The
court
was
not
persuaded.
Mumba’s
abuse
may
never
have
come
to
light
had
it
not
been
for
an
unusual
sequence
of
events.
On
February
17,
the
teenager
–
a
Form
One
pupil
living
with
her
mother
in
Rangemore
–
allegedly
abducted
a
two-year-old
child
from
Meikles
Market
in
the
city
centre.
She
took
the
baby
to
Mumba’s
home
in
Trenance,
presenting
the
child
as
her
own.
The
two
stayed
there
for
two
days.
On
February
19,
the
teenager
attempted
to
leave
the
baby
with
a
stranger
at
a
block
of
flats
in
the
city,
telling
the
man
that
the
child’s
father
would
come
to
collect
her.
The
man
grew
suspicious,
recognised
the
baby
as
the
child
reported
missing
and
alerted
authorities.
In
a
police
interview,
the
teen
revealed
that
Mumba
was
her
“boyfriend.”
He
was
arrested
in
Plumtree.
The
teenager
has
since
been
charged
with
kidnapping.
She
was
released
on
bail
into
the
custody
of
her
mother.