Online Reporter
Musawenkosi Moyo
A 29-YEAR-OLD Tsholotsho man heaved a sigh of relief after being acquitted of rape charges — but didn’t walk away scot-free, as he was convicted for having sex with a 15-year-old girl and kidnapping her.
Manners Ncube appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Matthew Mutiro, facing two counts of rape and one of kidnapping. He pleaded not guilty, but after a full trial, he was cleared of rape and convicted on the lesser charge of sexual intercourse with a minor.
He was slapped with a three-year sentence, with one year suspended for five years, and ordered to pay a US$400 fine for the kidnapping.
In his defence, Ncube claimed the girl was his lover and that she lied about her age.
“I thought she was older. We were in a relationship,” he told the court.
But the prosecution painted a darker picture.
On 1 January 2025, in Phelela Line, the 15-year-old reportedly went to relieve herself in a bushy area near her home when Ncube suddenly emerged from the trees and asked her to walk with him. When she refused, he allegedly slapped her three times, dragged her to his home and forced her into his bedroom hut where he had sex with her.
The court heard that after the first encounter, he fell asleep — only to rape her again later that night.
He then escorted her home in the early hours of the morning. Suspicious, the girl’s mother questioned her and reported the incident to the police.
Though the rape charges didn’t stick, Ncube now faces time behind bars — with the community left stunned.
