In a case that exposes a flawed judiciary and how the court of public opinion sentences innocent people, Deoxyribonucleic acid tests (DNA) that were conducted to determine the paternity of the child born by the nine- year old Tsholotsho minor have established that the father of the child is the girl’s 13-year-old cousin.
This is contrary to public held perception that the father of the minor was responsible for the heinous act.
The father of the minor whose identity is being protected, spent time in jail facing allegations of sexually abusing his child.
Police said on Saturday, the 13 year old cousin was responsible for the abusing the minor.
“The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirms that the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) results obtained from National University of Science and Technology on 25 November 2022, in connection with the paternity of the 9-year-old girl’s child have established that the victim’s cousin brother (13) is the father of the child,” reads the statement.
The police said the two will be counselled by the police’s Victim Friendly Unit.
“The nine-year-old complainant and the suspect will now receive the appropriate counseling from the Police’s Victim Friendly Unit (VFU). The Police is now working with other relevant arms of the government to ensure that the due processes of the law are followed,” reads the statement.
The father to the nine year-old was taken into police custody on 29 August when it was discovered that the minor was pregnant.
However, following the minor’s failure to divulge the name of the person who raped her, the State resorted to using DNA tests to see if the accused was indeed the father of the baby that was born a few weeks ago.
The National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Applied Genetic Testing Center offered to do the testing for free as part of giving back to the society.
The father once claimed the minor was raped by goblins that would visit her whenever the father was not there.
