Teacher, 63, loses rape appeal over abuse of 13-year-old vulnerable pupil

A 63-year-old teacher who raped a vulnerable 13-year-old pupil has lost his appeal against conviction and an effective 18-year prison sentence after the High Court found that he had exploited his position of trust and groomed the child before the assaults.

The Bulawayo High Court dismissed Clever Mutero’s appeal in a judgment handed down on September 2, upholding his conviction on two counts of rape and the sentence imposed by the Kwekwe Regional Magistrates’ Court.

Mutero, who was 62 when the offences were committed, was the child’s teacher at a Redcliff primary school, where he taught a special class for learners with disabilities.

The High Court said the circumstances were aggravated by the fact that Mutero “acted in loco parentis” and knew of the girl’s vulnerability.

The court also found that he had groomed the child before the rapes by sending her on errands, driving her in his car and taking her to his home.

“The court also took into account as aggravating the fact that the Appellant acted in loco parentis. He knew of the complainant’s vulnerability as his student with special needs,” Justice Mpokiseng Dube said, with Justice Vivian Ndlovu concurring.

The court heard that Mutero first allegedly lured the girl into a classroom during the first term of 2024 while she was playing at school before sexually assaulting her.

In a second incident during the third term of 2025, he allegedly called her into a staffroom after she had written an examination paper, locked the door and assaulted her again.

The girl reported the incidents to friends and a teacher, while she later disclosed the abuse to her maternal aunt after developing vaginal thrush.

A medical examination at Kwekwe General Hospital found that she had a ruptured hymen and that penetration was definite.

Mutero denied the allegations and argued on appeal that the girl’s evidence was unreliable and that the alleged rape in the staffroom was impossible because the room was normally busy.

The High Court rejected both arguments.

The judges found that the girl, despite having an intellectual disability, was a competent witness and had consistently described the abuse to her friends, aunt, teacher and psychiatrist.

“Consistency in repeating the essential allegations strengthens credibility and reduces the likelihood of fabrication,” Dube said.

The court also rejected attempts to rely on minor discrepancies in the girl’s accounts, stressing that courts should not scrutinise child sexual-abuse testimony over immaterial details.

The judges said Mutero had failed to challenge important parts of the girl’s evidence during cross-examination, including her account of being taken to his home and later being questioned by him about why she was telling people “their stories”.

His argument that the staffroom was too busy for the second rape to have occurred was also dismissed.

The court noted that defence witnesses could only say the room was generally busy, not that it was occupied at the specific time of the alleged assault.

The trial magistrate had observed: “We all know that having sex does not require a lot of time… A chance may just present itself.”

The High Court also rejected Mutero’s argument that his 18-year sentence was excessive.

Although he was a first offender, had worked at the school for many years without blemish, was nearing retirement and had lost his job, the court found that the aggravating circumstances justified the sentence.

Section 65 of Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act provides for up to life imprisonment for rape.

Mutero was sentenced to 18 years on each count, with the terms running concurrently, meaning he will effectively serve 18 years.

“The appeal therefore lacks merit in its entirety and is accordingly dismissed,” the High Court ruled.

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