By a Correspondent
A Zimbabwean man has been sentenced to two life terms in South Africa after being convicted of trafficking and repeatedly raping a 12-year-old girl whom he took from Zimbabwe.
David Chauke, who was 27 when he abducted the girl in January 2020, was sentenced by the Worcester Regional Court to life imprisonment for trafficking in persons and another life term for rape.
He was also sentenced to five years for abduction, 15 years for sexual exploitation and 12 months for contravening South Africa’s Immigration Act.
The court heard that Chauke took the girl from Chipinge in Manicaland to Brits in South Africa’s North West province before later moving with her to Nkqubela in Robertson, Western Cape.
According to evidence presented in court, Chauke manipulated the child into believing that he loved her and intended to marry her. He also allegedly paid one of her relatives to facilitate contact with her without her parents’ knowledge.
After taking her to South Africa, Chauke isolated the girl from her family and made her dependent on him for food, accommodation and transport.
He repeatedly raped and sexually exploited her and instructed her to lie about her age, telling her to say she was 16 whenever questions were raised about her identity.
The case came to light after members of the Robertson community became concerned about a young girl living with an adult man as his wife. Chauke was arrested in November 2020.
The victim testified during the trial through a Shona-speaking court intermediary. The prosecution called 10 witnesses, including police officers, a medical practitioner, social worker, Home Affairs officials, community members and members of the girl’s family in Zimbabwe.
Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the prosecution had shown that Chauke deliberately isolated the child from her parents and exploited her age, vulnerability, language barriers and dependence on him.
Prosecutor Elton Willemse told the court that Chauke had deprived the girl of her childhood and subjected her to severe emotional and psychological trauma.
