In a rather bizarre incident, a 72-year-old woman from Mgadla Village, Matobo District in Matabeleland South province was allegedly raped by her granddaughter's 22-year-old ex-lover as repayment for a debt.

The woman, whose name is withheld for ethical reasons, was violated by the suspected 22-year-old, but he was discharged by the courts after the granny failed to positively identify him in court. Last week, the victim sobbed as she narrated how the young man allegedly broke into her house at midnight and raped her.

"It was sometime in May at around 2am when I heard some voices outside and I assumed that they were from passers-by. After a few minutes, a man broke down my bedroom door and threatened to slit my throat if I screamed. I asked why he wanted to rape me given my age and he stated that private parts are the same regardless of age. I tried to scream and he covered my mouth, he stripped me and raped me three times without protection," she said.

She stated that the rapist indicated that she was paying for a debt that was owed by her granddaughter, who was no longer living with her.

"While he was raping me, he indicated that my granddaughter owed him some money and I was paying back the debt. He left my house at dawn and promised to return the same week. We reported the matter to the police," she said.

The victim's neighbour indicated that the victim informed her about the incident in the morning.

"The victim came to my house and informed me about the incident. I went to her house in the company of my grandson and some neighbourhood watch officers. They followed the footprints which led them to the suspect's house and when they got to the house, he was still wearing the same shoes and he was taken to the police. I took the victim to the clinic and it was confirmed that she was raped and the medical report indicated that she had been infected with a sexually transmitted infection," she said.

A community member, Austin Ndlovu stated that the woman lives alone and this has exposed her to criminals.

"The suspect is known by the villagers. I think the challenge that we have is that the old woman stays alone and this has exposed her to a number of perpetrators. There are times when she goes missing and the night before the rape, l met the suspect standing by the victim's gate when l was on my way home," he said.

Ndlovu added that there was a need for community members to work together to bring justice to the victim.

"The challenge that we have as a community is that we are not united and this has exposed elders of our community to such tragic incidents. I believe that we have to unite and ensure that the culprit is brought to book," he said.

The village head, Prayford Sibanda, said they were helping the police with investigations.

"The matter was reported to the police but the challenge was that the evidence that linked the suspect to the offense were only footprints. During the trial (in court), the victim indicated that she did not recognize the culprit's face and the suspect was discharged. As a community, we are helping the police with further investigations as this matter is not the first of its kind in the community and we will not rest until the culprit is apprehended," said Sibanda.