adminFrom September 18, 2011 to November 6, 2012, Thomas Chirembwe (30) earned himself the title of Zimbabwe’s most notorious rapist as he became a one-man urban terrorist entering people’s houses robbing them and raping women.
In some cases, he waylaid and raped his 13 victims, all from Harare’s suburbs of Cranborne, Hatfield and Queensdale. Recently Chirembwe was convicted of 21 counts and sentenced to 290 years in prison.
He will effectively serve a historic 230 years after regional magistrate Mr Simon Kachambwa suspended 60 years on condition of good behaviour.
The Herald’s Features Editor Roselyne Sachiti and writer Tafadzwa Ndlovu caught up with the victims of Zimbabwe’s most notorious rapist.
The room was dark and peaceful. Dogs in the neighbourhood were barking — some simply “singing” and admiring the beauty of the full moon.
It was a beautiful night in Harare’s eastern suburbs, so Irene Mhofu (not real name) who had just returned home from a party, thought. She had just slept hoping to wake up the next morning and spend the day with her family.
But little did she imagine that in the early morning deathly silence, 30-year-old Thomas Chirembwe would cautiously break into her home, attempt to rape and then rob her. Her maid was away since she was off-duty.
Only her young brother was at home.
Taking advantage of a crack on a window in one of the rooms, Chirembwe used an object to smash it and entered the house at around 4am breaking the early morning silence.
“I woke upon hearing some noises then I noticed there was a man standing beside my bed. He was holding a huge knife and asked if I had money stashed somewhere in the house.
“I told him there was none but he did not believe me. He began ransacking the home and found US$360 that I had set aside for rent. He also found another US$80 in my other wallet,” she recalled.
Chirembwe was not satisfied with the loot, he wanted more and continued with his search. “He even looked for money in all my shoes.
“That is when he noticed that someone was sleeping in the next room since the lights were on,” she added.
Still not satisfied, Chirembwe again asked Mhofu if her brother who was asleep in the adjacent room also had some money.
With the knife on my throat, he walked me to my brother’s room.
“I lied hoping that Chirembwe would go into the room giving me a split of a second to escape and look for help.
“Unfortunately, my young brother’s door was locked so he could not get in.
“His knife was still pressed to my throat so I could not do anything to help myself,” she revealed more horrible details.
Chirembwe then force-marched Mhofu back to her bedroom, pushed her to the bed and demanded condoms.
“I showed him where they were.
“He wore one on the wrong way then removed it. He took another one and wore it properly.
“I was in shock and scared. As he tried to rape me, he noticed that I was menstruating,” she said.
The menstruation did not deter Chirembwe, but before he could finish his dirty business, he heard someone opening the gate. “He left me and jumped outside through a window and then the security wall.
“I screamed but we could not find him. We immediately went to the police who were very helpful and co-operative,” said Mhofu. The following days were a living hell for Mhofu, who despite receiving counselling and assurances that Chirembwe would be arrested by the police was still scared.
“I was traumatised by the experience because I went through a lot.
“I had nightmares all the time and had to upgrade my security system. I was helped by my church members and got professional counselling but at first it was really bad for me,” she said.
Mhofu also immediately sought help since she knew the benefits of post exposure prophylaxis (PEP), which prevents the risk of contracting HIV. “I knew about PEP because one of my relatives had been raped before,” she said.
The 290-year sentence is sweet music to her ears. In fact, she wishes they had given him a death sentence or even chemically castrated him.
“He destroyed my life and it was terrible for a while,” she added.
Mhofu would not be Chirembwe’s only victim, 12 other women were to come forward. Molleen Pasi (not real name) is still traumatised by the events that led to her rape.
Pasi, whose husband works in Kwekwe, was with her baby and other children on the fateful day Chirembwe broke into her house at around 1am.
“I woke up when I felt some movements in the house. At first I did not see clearly because I was sleepy.
“I thought my children had woken up and were playing only to see him holding handcuffs and a big knife. I had just weaned off my youngest child and my breasts were swollen,” she said.
As his usual fantasy, Chirembwe demanded condoms and Pasi pointed to where they were.
“I lied that I had breast cancer and the cloth I used to cover my breasts was to stop puss from spoiling my clothes and blankets. He said he did not care; he then raped and robbed me.
“I called my husband who came that very morning and we went to the police.
“It was difficult for him at first but we managed to get through it.
“I did not even know about PEP and the police advised us on it.
“This experience affected me psychologically. I was mentally disturbed for a while. It also strained my marriage and made my life miserable.
“We also had to move from where the rape took place because I felt scared and traumatized,” she said. Pasi says jail is not enough, such serial rapists deserve to die. She had hoped for the worst penalty for her tormentor.
“I wanted him to be executed.”
Another of his 13 victims, Sikhanyisiwe Jamela of Cranborne, (the only one comfortable with her name being published) and her children had just retired to bed after celebrating New Year in 2012.
However, the coming of the New Year brought her misery as she was to be the serial rapist’s next random victim.
“It was around 2am on January 1 and I just felt something was wrong.
“I panicked and then jumped about three metres from my bed as soon as I heard some funny sounds in the house,” she revealed. The source of noise, as she later discovered, was an armed Chirembwe who wanted to rape and rob her.
He tried to pin her to the floor but was no match for the widow, who fought for her life. “I fought him to the end and even bit him on his leg.
“My son who had been woken up by the noise also helped me fight him. He escaped when he noticed that the whole family had descended on him.
“I am a widow and I thank God because he helped me fight this horrible man. He only managed to steal some stuff but did not rape me.
“I no longer trust men and sometimes I get so scared and upset that I lock my doors at around 6pm.
“I am happy with his sentence because it is the Lord’s doing that he was caught,” she added.
Martha (not real name) said she is still traumatised by the experience and always looks over her shoulder.
“He raped me. He took away my dignity. I am still scared of him even if he is locked up in prison. I am scared he may send his relatives for me,” she said.
Following their rapes, all the victims said they bonded as they attended the trial. The tables were now turned against their rapist and they enjoyed watching him looking sad, troubled and toothless in his prison garb.
They were even shocked when in mitigation their tormentor pleaded for the court’s leniency and asked for a shorter jail term. He said, “Your Worship, I am a married man with three minor children and the youngest is four years old.
“I would like a sentence which will allow me to come back and look after my family.”
Last week his wife Ms Sandra Musonza maintained her husband was innocent and was not capable of being a serial rapist.
But what turns a “family” man into a serial rapist?
Clinical psychologist, Dr Farzana Naeem says bad childhood experiences, behavioural problems at school and sexual disorders could lead some people into being serial rapists. Sex offenders, she said, almost always attack alone, committing the offence at their own home or the victim’s residence.
“Victims are almost always chosen by their helplessness and their implausibility as sexual targets. Rapists have different motives for raping, which creates distinct patterns of attacks.
“Each attack has its own pattern depending on the motives of the rapist.
“The patterns of rape include the anger rape, the power rape and the sadistic rape,” said Dr Naeem, who heads the psychology department at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.
She said the most important step towards understanding both the offender and his crime is in recognising that rape is not motivated by sexual desire but it is fulfilling a need for sexual gratification.
“It is an act of violence motivated by anger, control and frustration — not sexual frustration. Rape is a way of sexually expressing aggression. Sex is then used as a weapon; it is the means, not the cause,” she explained.
“It appears that many different people have their own opinions stressing either power relations and control, sexual desire, or the two variables together.
“A rapist might be more likely to rape a victim whose behaviour enhances both his sexual arousal and anger.
“So far, it may be concluded that any therapy is better than no treatment at all, and that prevention is better than the best therapy.
“More importantly, the victim should seek help immediately,” she said.
She also added that therapy for rape victims can include one-on-one therapy, group therapy and even, in some cases, pharmacotherapy (medication) used alongside other therapies.
The type of rape therapy used depends a lot on the individual and their circumstance but common rape therapies include:
Stress inoculation therapy;
Prolonged exposure therapy;
Cognitive processing therapy;
Eye movement desensitization reprocessing;
Supportive counselling.
Treatment is free at Harare and Parirenyatwa hospitals.
Online Reporter