Mozambique: Police report unprecedented number of child rape cases in Manica

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Mozambique: Police report unprecedented number of child rape cases in Manica

4:50 CAT | 26 Oct 2020

Image: RM

Police accounted for 45 cases in 2020. Number of children raped, usually by elderly relatives or neighbours, was almost doubled that from January to October 2020, when compared to the same period last year.

Police in Mozambique have recorded an unprecedented number of cases of sexual abuse of children, including babies, mostly by citizens over-60 years of age, in the centre of the country, with 45 since the beginning of the year, an official from the force has told Lusa.

Statistics from Manica province indicate that the number of children raped, usually by elderly relatives and neighbours, in the period from January to October 2020 was almost double that of the same period in 2019, said Mateus Mindu, a police spokesman.

“Although we are often discouraging this type of practice, it seems that [elderly] men do not heed the message,” said Mindu, adding that the corporation would continue to be “ruthless” in combatting the crime of rape of minors.

The most recent case was last weekend, when a 60-year-old was detained on suspicion of having raped an 18-month-old baby in a suburb of Chimoio, in central Mozambique.

The man is alleged to have taken advantage of his good neighbourly relationship with the victim’s parents to take the baby to a room in their absence and without attracting the attention of other neighbours in the building.

“Medical examinations have already been carried out on the baby and we are waiting for the expert’s report for subsequent procedures,” said Mindu.

“We call on all parents to avoid leaving minors in custody of people of dubious conduct and we also call on all men to respect the rights of children,” he added.

In a statement to Lusa, the mother of the minor in question said that she became suspicious when the child squirmed in pain while trying to walk, after the old man handed over the baby, crying, to his sister, also a minor.

“At dinner time I tried to put the child sitting on my feet, but he groaned in pain,” he said. “I was surprised and took her to her room to see what was happening and discovered a lot of semen in her genitals.

“I realised that the child had been raped,” she continued. “Then we took her to the hospital, where it was confirmed.”

According to police figures, the district of Chimoio heads the list of the 11 districts of Manica in terms of cases of rape of minors, with 15 cases. The districts of Guro and Macossa are the only ones with no cases.

Source: Lusa