TWO female teachers in Mumbwa have been raped in separate incidents in one night in what appears to be well-calculated incidents. The victims are teachers at Nambwa Primary School and Kantengwa Community Primary School, which are about 20 kilometres to 30 kilometres apart in Senior Chief Shakumbila’s area.

The teachers were allegedly attacked and raped between 02:00 hours and 04:00 hours in their houses on Sunday. Mumbwa District Commissioner Felix Ndopu confirmed the incidents while Central Province Commissioner of Police Chola Katanga only confirmed the raping of the Nambwa Primary School teacher.

In the Kantengwa Community Primary School case, the victim was raped by a gang of four masked men while in the other incident, a lone man armed with two machetes raped the 40-year-old teacher after threatening to kill her. “She [Nambwa Primary School teacher] was raped and this criminal also stole her cell phone. This happened on Sunday,” Mr Ndopu said. He said on the same night, four masked men raped another teacher at Kantengwa Community Primary School.

“In both attacks, the perpetrators stole mobile phones from their victims,” Mr Ndopu said. He described the development as sad and urged police in the district to ensure that the rapists are brought to book. “It is very sad that our female teachers are being targeted. These teachers are not married and they live alone. “If this trend continues, we might find a challenge in the education system because teachers will be fearing to go and work in remote areas,” Mr Ndopu said.

And Mr Katanga said the Nambwa Primary School teacher was raped between 02:00 hours and 03:00 hours. Mr Katanga said the criminal entered the teacher’s house through a window after breaking window panes. “The victim was told that if she screamed for help, she risked being killed.

She was raped in her own house by an unknown male person who was armed with two machetes,” he said. Mr Katanga said the victim complained of body pains after the ordeal. Meanwhile, a 62-year-old retired teacher has denied defiling a 10-year-old girl claiming that he is impotent.

This is in a case Cherry Munyinya, formerly of Chitukuko Primary School, is accused of defilement and indecent assault. Between March 1 and June 29 last year in Lusaka, Munyinya allegedly defiled the girl and indecently assaulted another nineyear-old. When the matter came up for defence yesterday before Lusaka Magistrate Faides Hamaundu, Munyinya said from the beginning of the case, he denied the charges because his manhood does not function.

“I developed this problem in 2016, and since then [I] have not been having sexual intercourse with my wife,” he said. His wife, Leticia Zulu, 57, also confirmed that the couple has not been having sex since November 2016. The case was adjourned to Friday next week.