An 18-year-old herd boy at Guru Guru cattlepost, near Mandunyane charged with the defilement of a 15-year-old girl in January this year has told Francistown Magistrate Court that the victim deceived him.
Eric Mhlophe Ndlovu of Lupane, Zimbabwe denied having sex with an underage girl but alleged his girlfriend is aged 17 years.
“She told me she was 17 years old. I asked her age before I proposed and asked to be my girlfriend. She is one of the girls I saw frequenting bars and drinking spots. Since we started our relationship in October 2024, I only slept with her twice in January this year,” explained Ndlovu before Magistrate Thapelo Buang.
“She even told me I was not her first boyfriend, that she had affairs with much older men before. And had sex with her previous lovers. She showed me the men she was talking about and indeed they were even older than me,” continued Ndlovu, who has not been asked to take a plea for the defilement charge.
He went on to divulge they had sex only twice, since their relationship started in October last year. “And all occasions when we had sex she is the one who would have followed me to the cattle post. And each time I would ask her if her parents knew where she was. Each time she said they are aware she was visiting me,” continued the Lupane native, who has been working in Botswana illegally.
Meanwhile, Ndlovu’s countrymen John Zulu (18) from Binga, Zimbabwe, also a herd boy in Guru Guru cattle post was also slapped with a charge of defiling a 14-year-old girl.
Questioned if he had anything to say, Zulu said he had nothing to say or share with the court. The duo who are also charged with entering Botswana illegally, were not asked to take plea for the defilement charges. Investigations into the cases are still in progress, as samples are still to be collected from the suspects for forensic testing.
The accused persons return to court next month.
