adminDaniel Nemukuyu Harare Bureau
THE High Court has thrown out a bail application by jailed RMG End Time Message Church leader Robert Martin Gumbura because there are no prospects of success in his appeal against conviction and sentence on rape charges.Gumbura was sentenced to 40 years on four counts of rape by a Harare magistrate in February this year.
He has since appealed against both sentence and convictions at the High Court.
Pending determination of his appeal, Gumbura had mounted a bail application at the same court.
Dismissing Gumbura’s bail application yesterday, Justice Joseph Musakwa said: “I see no prospects of success on appeal in respect of those counts. The applicant’s moral blameworthiness is high and merits severe punishment.
“This may well have been a case that deserved to be referred to the High Court for sentence for the purposes of precedence . . .In the result, the application for bail pending appeal is hereby dismissed.”
Online Reporter