adminMarvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
A FILABUSI man who raped his friend’s HIV positive wife and gave her a rabbit to conceal the matter will serve an effective nine year jail term. Never Mhlanga, 33, of Nkankezi area had denied raping his friend’s 23-year-old wife but Gwanda regional magistrate Joseph Mabeza convicted him after finding him guilty of the offence due to overwhelming evidence.
He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment of which three years were suspended for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar offence. Regional prosecutor Johannes Tlou said that Mhlanga raped the woman on July 11, this year at around 4AM when he visited her homestead and found her asleep.
The woman was alone as her husband was away. Tlou said Mhlanga who had information that his friend was not around, visited the woman very early in the morning “to buy tobacco shavings.” The court heard that Mhlanga woke the woman up by knocking on the door and told her that he wanted to uy tobacco shavings.
Since the woman knew Mhlanga as her husband’s friend, she let him into the house and gave him the tobacco shavings but he refused to pay saying her husband owed him five rand. Tlou told the court that Mhlanga grabbed the complainant’s hand and asked to have sexual intercourse with her but she refused.
He then pushed the complainant against the wall, grabbed her by the neck and lifted his knee and pressed it on the complainant’s stomach. He then started fondling her and tore the complainant’s skin, the court heard.
“The accused person pushed the complainant to the floor and pushed the complainant’s panties aside and had sexual intercourse with her once without her consent. The accused then gave the complainant a rabbit and said it was for relish and he left,” Tlou said. The prosecutor said Mhlanga had pleaded with the complainant not to tell anyone about the incident.
However, the woman phoned her husband and informed him about the incident and a police report was made leading to Mhlanga’s arrest.
Online Reporter