Bulawayo man jailed for testing virginity of daughter

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A Bulawayo's Barbourfields man who filmed himself testing his daughter's vrginity has pleaded with the court not to send him to remand prison, saying he will not survive it.

The 51-year-old man was dragged to the dock two weeks ago for allegedly undressing his daughter (15), inserting his fingers and taking pictures of her privates. The man did all this under the disguise that he was checking the girl's virginity.
 
Prosecutor Mr Malvern Nzombe told the court that the old man was in the habit of inserting his fingers into the girl's privates, saying he was checking whether they were big enough to be tied. The court heard that he smeared herbs claiming to be protecting his daughter from rapists. As if that was not enough, he went on to take pictures of the girl's vagina using his cellphone, alleging that it was a way of keeping records in the virginity testing exercise.
 
However, the man pleaded not guilty to the charge of indecent assault when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Miss Marilyn Mutshina. He was remanded in custody but appealed for bail arguing that he had a heart problem and would not cope in remand prison. Magistrate Mutshina advised him to write an affidavit to the Attorney General's office seeking bail.
 
It is the State's case that the man started the act in 2009 where he allegedly started his virginity tests. Since then, the girl always kept the matter a secret until last month when she spilled the beans. The mobile is being used as an exhibit in court.