Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
The High Court has upheld the conviction of Takawira Nhaudzawanda, a 40-year-old leader of an Apostolic sect, for the rape of a 14-year-old girl, but reduced his sentence from 20 years to 10 effective years.
The decision followed Nhaudzawanda’s appeal against both his conviction and sentence handed down by the Chinhoyi Regional Magistrate’s Court in September last year.
The court dismissed Nhaudzawanda’s alibi defence and rejected his arguments that the rape report was fabricated and inadmissible.
Justice Catherine Bachi-Mzawazi, in her judgment, said: “The appellant’s defence from a totality of evidence surrounding it was not reasonably possible. It lost its footing. It downright shows that there was no alibi at all.”
The court heard that Nhaudzawanda, in January 2025, proposed love to the complainant, a member of his church, who was 14 years old at the time.
When she failed to respond, he later confronted her in February 2025 while she was on her way home from school.
He dragged her to a garden, forced her to the ground, and raped her once. The complainant disclosed the assault to her mother two months later, after her mother noticed she had become withdrawn. A police report was made, and a medical examination confirmed the abuse.
Nhaudzawanda denied the allegations and claimed the charges were fabricated by the girl’s mother who he alleged wanted to rekindle a past romantic relationship with him.
He also presented an alibi, claiming he was not in Zvimba, where the offence occurred, but in Raffingora, attending to his sick father.
His defence was supported by two witnesses who testified that he had been travelling for religious purposes during February 2025.
The court, however, found his alibi defence lacking in credibility. Justice Cathrine Bachi-Mzawazi noted that the appellant failed to provide sufficient details to the police to investigate his claims.
“Without a name or proper identification of the sick person, how on earth was the police supposed to investigate?” she said.
The court also rejected arguments that the rape report was inadmissible due to the two-month delay in reporting.
Justice Bachi-Mzawazi emphasised that victims of sexual violence, especially children, react differently to trauma.
“It took the victim time to process and accept what had happened to her. The visible or noticeable sulking meant she was in a state of mental turmoil, weighing the repercussions of such a report and the best way she could divulge the information and to who,” she said.
On the sentence, the court found the original 20-year term to be excessive, particularly given the statutory minimum penalty of 15 years.
Justice Bachi-Mzawazi reduced the sentence to 15 years, with five years suspended on condition of good behaviour.
“An effective 20-year imprisonment sentence is on the extreme, especially in an offence with a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years,” she said.
The reduction of the sentence leaves Nhaudzawanda with 10 effective years in prison. The court concluded that justice would be served by balancing deterrence with fairness.
