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Moses Hungwe of Masvingo pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of rape when he appeared at Hlanganani regional court in Waterval, Limpopo Province, but was convicted by magistrate Mr Muhanelwa Mthombeni.
Initially Hungwe was facing 20 counts of rape but the court had to withdraw the other nine counts due to lack of evidence linking him to the alleged offences.
In his ruling, Mr Mthombeni described as unrealistic the argument by Hungwe’s lawyer that his client had consensual sexual intercourse with the women, who later reported him to the police.
The court further indicated that DNA samples retrieved at the crime scenes or from some of the victims had matched the samples taken from Hungwe. The court was told that between 2007 and 2011, Hungwe would waylay the complainants in bushy areas and rob them of their belongings before raping them. He operated in Chavani and Hlanganani villages in the Waterval area where he committed the offences.
The victims’ ages ranged between 15 and 83, the court was told. Hungwe was arrested in an operation during which police also recovered several cellphones belonging to some of the complainants.
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter