Danisa Masuku
A caretaker at a church in Bulawayo who kidnapped, drugged and raped a 15-year-old girl has been slapped with an 18-year jail sentence.
Mkhululi Ndlovu (42) appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga charged with two counts of kidnapping and rape.
He pleaded not guilty to both counts but was convicted after a full trial and sentenced to 18 years in jail.
Ndlovu will, however, spend 16 years in prison after the magistrate suspended two years on condition of good behaviour.
In coming up with the sentence the magistrate said Ndlovu’s horrible actions brought the name of the church into disrepute.
He said Ndlovu was heartless as he also exposed the minor girl to drugs and substance abuse.
In his defence, Ndlovu said he only called the minor to the church to pray for her after she had confided in him that she was being tormented by evil spirits.
Prosecuting, Constance Tatenda Mathaba said on 8 November 2022, Ndlovu met the teenage girl near her home in Nkulumane suburb.
He grabbed her and placed a knife on her throat while forcing her to sniff a white powder, suspected to be a drug, crystal meth, popularly known as guka or mutoriro.
The court further heard that the frightened girl sniffed the powder and after that she fell unconscious.
She was shocked when she woke up the following morning in Ndlovu’s house naked, with the white powder on the bed.
In court, she said Ndlovu forced her to sniff the powder and after that, she would feel drowsy and gradually fall unconscious.
The court further heard that the girl would wake up naked with signs she had engaged in sex and she would see used condoms on the floor.
It was reported that each time Ndlovu went out of the room he would lock her inside the house.
The girl escaped when Ndlovu asked her to accompany him to a house in Old Lobengula suburb to buy drugs.
The court heard that when Ndlovu was buying the drugs the girl ran out of the house and went to a police station and reported the incident.
Ndlovu was later arrested at the church premises.
