ONE of our main stories today is quite disturbing.
It is about a family which has been divided over how they should handle a sensitive issue involved a man who allegedly raped his step-daughter.
He didn’t only repeatedly rape her, from when she was just 13, but recorded his shocking assault.
Fungayi Gwishiri was arrested for raping the victim since she was 13 in 2017.
She is now 19.
He initially appeared before a South African court where he was remanded in custody until August 28 before he was remanded to another date.
Now, his family finds itself at loggerheads with some pushing for him to be released while the victim’s mother is resisting their move.
A relative was sent to the victim’s mother to persuade her to forgive the man who repeatedly raped her daughter.
The man she called her husband and who, by committing to their relationship, was expected to provide fatherly love and protection to her daughter.
“Gulez, people have instructed me to come and talk to you about an out-of-court settlement, if there are certain demands that you want you can then tell them about them so that you can drop the case,” an audio recording, which is in the hands of H-Metro, says.
It is a recording of the relative who was sent to try and convince her to drop the charges against the suspect.
“My brother is asking for your forgiveness, he is acknowledging that what he did was wrong, he does not mean any harm, he just wants to get out of jail and live a normal life.”
What this shows is that the Gwishiri family has forgiven their son for the heinous act he committed on this innocent teenager.
What weighs heavily against the suspect is that he was supposed to be the one who provided the shield to protect the teenager.
He knew she was vulnerable and he took advantage of that.
She looked up to him for everything, including protection and guidance, because she needed a father to do that in her life.
Her mother told her that even though Fungayi was not her biological father, he was the man she could rely on to provide that fatherly love.
Instead, he turned into the monster who was bent on destroying her.
We have been charmed by the defiance of the mother who has refused to part of this evil plot to protect the suspect.
“I cannot agree to an out-of-court settlement because an out-of-court settlement will not benefit us in any way, it will not take away what he did to my daughter.
“My daughter was robbed from when she was 13 years-old up until now, how will that out-of-court settlement help my daughter?
“You guys are accepting that what he did was okay, you think that maybe you can buy her and maybe she has some demands.
“Unfortunately, my daughter’s life is priceless so out-of-court settlement is out of the discussion.”
That’s the spirit.
Just let the law take its cause.