An eight-year-old Zimbabwean girl and her sister (2) were raped by a man who entered their home twice through a window while their parents were sleeping in the same room.

The 20-year-old suspect, who resides at Mashava village outside Beit Bridge, appeared in court last week, facing two counts of aggravated sexual assault.

The court was told that between 10 January and 17 January this year, the man gained entry into his victims’ home through a broken window on both occasions. He was denied bail and the case was postponed to 20 February.

It was testified that the accused was already in the nude when he proceeded to the bedroom where the eight-year-old girl was sleeping. The court heard that Banda took cooking oil from the kitchen and smeared it on the girl’s private parts before raping her, after which he sneaked out unnoticed. The following morning, the girl’s mother noticed the oil on her, but the girl had no recollection of how it got there. Neither did she remember a sexual attack.

On January 17, the court heard, the man returned to the same house. As before, he entered through the window, already in the nude, and proceeded to one of the bedrooms where the two-year-old girl was sleeping with her parents. He once again smeared cooking oil on the little girl's privates and raped her while her parents were fast asleep.

His luck ran out when the victim’s mother suddenly woke up and discovered her daughter was missing from her side. As she frantically looked around, she caught sight of the accused, who was cowering in a corner. She screamed for her husband and the man fled through the broken window. The little girl was found unconscious on the edge of the bed. Police arrived shortly after the incident and arrested the accused.