Neighbour jailed 12 years

Lovemore Meya Court Correspondent
A THIRTY-YEAR-OLD Seke man was last week sentenced to an effective 12 years in prison for raping his neighbour’s wife after gaining access into her house on the pretext that he wanted her to charge his cellphone .

The man was arrested after the victim locked him inside the house as he was still putting on his clothes after committing the offence.

She went to inform her sister about the offence. The rape occurred on July 14 this year. The accused took advantage of the fact that the victim’s husband was away in South Africa. The court heard that the man arrived at the victim’s house at around 3pm and asked her to charge his cellphone and she complied. She discovered that it was malfunctioning and told him. He concurred with her and proceeded to enter the housed uninvited.

He then started fondling the woman without her consent and forcefully pushed her onto a sofa. They started to wrestle, leading to the woman biting his hand, but he overpowered her and raped her.

After the act, he remained seated on the sofa as she went outside and she locked him inside.

The man denied the rape charges when he appeared before Chitungwiza regional magistrate, but was convicted after the prosecutor Mr Tendai Mukariri proved a strong case against him.

Ms Chivasa slapped him with a 14-year prison term, but suspended two years for five years. In passing sentence, Ms Chivasa said the man’s blameworthiness was very high.

“Honestly, raping a neighbour’s wife amounts to serious disrespect,” said Ms Chivasa. “The accused is a neighbour who committed the offence after he pretended he wanted to have his cellphone charged. The relationship between the complainant, her husband and probably family members is likely to be strained.”