Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwizura,Court Reporter
A 35-YEAR-OLD inmate at Khami Prison, already serving a 71-year jail term, has been sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison for sodomising his fellow inmate over six months.
Mlungisi Maphosa of Silobela Village pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Western Commonage regional magistrate Mr Lungile Ncube, but was convicted of indecent assault after overwhelming evidence was presented against him.
The new sentence brings to 86 years the total time Maphosa will now serve behind bars.
In passing sentence, Mr Ncube strongly condemned Maphosa’s conduct, saying prison is meant for rehabilitation, not for committing further crimes.
“The courts send people to prison so that they reform, but when they are now in prison and continue committing more crimes, this means that the reform part has totally been destroyed. This jail term is a lesson to others who have such a mind,” said Mr Ncube.
Prosecuting, Mr Milton Moyo told the court that the sexual abuse began sometime in November last year, around 3.15 PM.
“On that day, Maphosa took the complainant, a 23-year-old inmate, from his cell and led him to his own. Upon arrival, Maphosa ordered the complainant to remove his clothes before pushing him to the ground,” said Mr Moyo.
The court heard that Maphosa threatened to assault the complainant if he screamed. A scuffle ensued, during which Maphosa overpowered the victim and sodomised him.
Mr Moyo said Maphosa continued to abuse the complainant on several occasions until April this year, when the matter finally came to light.
“On April 22, the complainant gathered courage and reported the abuse to Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) authorities, who in turn alerted the police, leading to Maphosa’s arrest,” he said.
derick.khumalo