Pastor convicted for rape of girlfriend’s sister
A 48-year-old man employed as a farm assistant, also believed to be a pastor, has been convicted of rape after it was reportedly discovered that he sexually abused his girlfriend’s 15-year-old sister.
Appearing for judgment before Molepolole Senior Magistrate Mmamerafe Phologo, Shane Mutizwa was ordered to avail himself for fingerprinting while awaiting his sentence scheduled for August 11, 2026.
The offense allegedly occurred between June and November 2021 at Kolobeng, and the matter came to light after police received information that the accused had been sexually abusing the underage girl.
Seven state witnesses testified in the case, and the victim was initially treated as a hostile witness after she tried to protect Mutizwa, denying ever having sex with him.
When the trial commenced, the girl distanced herself from her initial police statement, claiming investigators recorded it and only told her to sign the document without first reading it out to her.
The victim further claimed she only visited Mutizwa twice, on her way to buy a school uniform and when she went to collect groceries from him.
She told the court that every time she visited Mutizwa they slept in the same bedroom but did not share blankets.
Magistrate Phologo granted an order for the girl to be treated as a hostile witness.
Citing a 2005 case of Boitumelo versus the State in the Botswana Law Reports, the magistrate ruled that when a child aged between 14 and 16 years has not given consent to sexual intercourse, a charge should be rape, not defilement.
“The identity of the accused is linked to the circumstantial evidence that the accused person’s DNA was found in the DNA profile obtained from the victim’s genital swabs. Even though the witness was hostile, the court reads that she unintentionally strengthened the prosecution’s case when stating that she was sent to meet the accused for certain reasons on a couple of occasions and spent the night with him in his bedroom. It’s not only that, but other witnesses also saw the victim with the accused on those occasions,” she said, further noting that there was no doubt that penetration occurred.
The psychiatric report also stated that the victim symbolised a traumatic event due to rape by the accused.
The court considered the DNA results, dismissed the Mutizwa’s defense as an afterthought, and found him guilty of rape.
