Vusumuzi Dube
Sandisiwe Gumbo, Sunday News Reporter
A 33-year-old Beitbridge man was convicted and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment at the Beitbridge Magistrate court for raping a 38-year-old woman.
In a statement the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe revealed that on 9 March 2024 at around 8.30pm, the accused person suddenly appeared from the bush and started assaulting three women.
“The complainant was armed with a sjambok and started assaulting three ladies who were on their way to a funeral at Chief Stauze’s area in Beitbridge. The women escaped in different directions but the accused followed the complainant until he caught up with her. He snatched the complainant’s cell phone and demanded sexual intercourse with her at knifepoint, threatening to kill her if she made noise,” reads a statement from NPA.
“The complainant complied and he raped her once without protection before fleeing the scene. When the complainant’s companions found her, she narrated her ordeal and they went to the funeral where the elders assisted in reporting the incident to the police who along with the locals conducted a search party.”
They followed the accused person’s shoe tracks which led to his residence.
He was arrested and the stolen cell phone, okapi knife, and shoes he was wearing when he committed the crime were recovered.
Bongani Ndlovu