THOHOYANDOU – A resident of Sereni Village, Edward Rammbyabeli (27), will spend the next ten years behind bars. His rape case was finalized in the Thohoyandou Regional Court last Saturday.

The incident took place at Sereni village in the Tshitale area between 1994 and 1999.

The court heard that the accused and the victim had been neighbours. The victim is a 15-year-old girl. According to the evidence that was brought before the court the accused had a tendency of going to the victim's home during the night.

He used to tell his family members that he was going to see to the victim and her sisters' well-being. At that time the victim was staying with her younger sisters in their home as their parents were working on the Reef. The court heard that the accused demanded to have sexual intercourse with the victim each time he went to her home.

The accused is an uncle to the victim. One day in 1999 a relative of the victim paid her a visit at home. She then explained the whole story to the relative saying she was tired of being used as a sex slave. The relative reported the matter to the police.

The accused was arrested a few days after the matter was reported to the police. The case was postponed several times in the Tshitale Magistrate's Court before it was transferred to the Regional Court. Rambyabeli was sentenced to ten years in prison without the option of paying a fine.