adminEmily Mbewe Court reporter
A 34-YEAR-old Bulawayo man was yesterday sentenced to 23 years in prison for raping a woman and a 14-year-old girl on separate occasions after threatening to stab them with a screwdriver and a knife, before robbing them.
Vusumuzi Sibanda of Pumula suburb pleaded not guilty to both charges and told the court that the victims were influenced by the police to implicate him.
He said he was a mobile phone dealer hence the victim’s phones were found in his possession.
Bulawayo regional magistrate Chrispen Mberewere however convicted him of two counts of rape and two counts of robbery.
“In passing sentence, the court took into consideration that you’re every woman’s nightmare. You don’t deserve to be part of our society and as such you should be removed from society for a long time,” said Mberewere.
The State case presented by Trust Muduma was that on May, 5, 2014 at around 11AM, a woman and her niece arrived at their house and found Sibanda there.
He told them that he was once a tenant at the house and was looking for the owner.
When he was told that the landlady was not around, Sibanda insisted on waiting for her.
The woman and her niece proceeded to their room and Sibanda followed them carrying a screwdriver and demanded some money.
When the woman told him she had no money, he grabbed her by the neck and demanded the keys to their room and a mobile phone.
She complied.
Sibanda then locked the woman in the bedroom and went to the kitchen and ordered the 14-year-old to lie down.
He raped her once, before force marching her into the bedroom and locking up the two.
The court heard that on the same day, Sibanda proceeded to his next target, at a house in Paddonhurst and asked for the contact numbers of the builders who had constructed the house.
When the victim went inside to look for the numbers, Sibanda followed her carrying an Okapi knife and asked where her husband was.
When the victim told him that her husband was resting in the house, he became aggressive and ordered her to get into her bedroom where he started assaulting her.
He again ordered her and her children to get into the wardrobe before locking it. Sibanda then searched the house and stole property and groceries worth $600.
He came back, opened the wardrobe and ordered the woman to undress before raping her.
Three witnesses identified Sibanda during an identification parade. All the mobile phones were recovered following his arrest.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter