Father rapes daughter, blames spirits

RWAMAGANA – A man who allegedly raped his daughter has claimed that he acted under the influence of demons. Alphonse Mutungirehe, 49, a resident of Nkungwa village, Munyaga sector currently being held at Rwamagana Police Station, is said to have raped his 18-year old daughter last March. He was arrested last week after it was discovered that the girl was pregnant. The girl alleges that she was raped by her drunken father at around 8 pm, while they were both home. Speaking from the police station, Mutungirehe claimed that he was driven by alcohol and evil spirits. “I had drunk this local brew we call ‘Kanyanga.’ Under its influence I could not spare anyone, not even my daughter. Our family is actually obsessed with evil and nothing else,” he said. The suspect claims most of his family members have a record of crimes, including raping their own children. “Even my brother had two children with his own daughter. So I am not surprised that I raped my daughter, I could even do it again who knows. I have this fantasy that is driving me to do this, inside of me; something that is making me want to do it without self restraint,” he said. Sector authorities say such cases are common due to alcohol abuse. “We are always fighting the use of Kanyanga because it is the source of all evils in this community. They fight and rape when they are drunk,” local authorities said. Residents however, expressed worry that such incidences remind them of crimes committed during the Genocide. Rape and drug abuse recently ranked third on the list of crimes in the district. Ends