A woman is furious after learning that her father is defending her husband who raped her younger sister.
Tavengew Timire, 34, of Zimbabwe, was jailed for repeatedly raping his wife’s younger sister, who is mentally disabled.
The incident came to light when the disabled woman went to live with her older sister and she told her that Timire would often sneak into her room and forced her to have sex behind his wife’s back.
The abuse allegedly occurred over a 6 month period. Ironically, the victim’s father came to the defense of his son-in-law.
The father-in-law said: “There is nothing wrong with my son-in-law having sex with his wife’s younger sister. Culturally, he is allowed to have sex and even marry her.
“Besides, whether the sex was consensual or not, my daughter is just useless and you can’t arrest him for having sex with her.”
Timire was fired from his job as an art teacher after his arrest.
Timire defended himself by saying that he never raped the disabled woman, and that the older sister was just making up lies against him because she was jealous of his relationship with his wife.
However, Hwange regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga did not believe Timire and neither did his wife, who filed for divorce.
Timire was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The judge suspended two years of the sentence on condition of good behavior, leaving the rapist with an effective 13-year jail term.
