HARARE - A Harare magistrate has jailed a 22-year-old man for 15 years after convicting him on charges of raping his three-year-old daughter.

The man, whose name has been withheld to protect the girl’s identity, escaped with a lesser jail term after magistrate Hosea Mujaya — who had initially sentenced him to 18 years — suspended three years on condition of good behaviour.

The court heard the man from Chiweshe Farm raped the minor after sending his wife to borrow a chicken from a neighbouring family on March 13 this year.

When the mother returned after a while, she found the two sitting outside and asked the child to adjust her skirt.

The minor then told her mother that she wanted to change her clothes and went inside the house.

The girl’s mother followed her intending to inquire what had happened.

The woman examined the girl’s clothes and discovered that it was stained with semen.

She immediately made a police report, leading to the man’s arrest.