Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwizura
A KHAMI Prison inmate serving a staggering 71-year sentence shocked the court with a bizarre defence after being slapped with an extra 15 years for sodomising a fellow prisoner.
Mlungisi Maphosa (35) of Silobela Village appeared before Western Commonage Regional Magistrate Lungile Ncube facing indecent assault charges. He pleaded not guilty, insisting the allegations were cooked up by a jealous “husband.”
Principal prosecutor Milton Moyo told the court that Maphosa repeatedly sodomised fellow inmate Lawrence Dube (23) between November 2024 and April this year. Dube finally reported the abuse to prison officials after months of silence.
But Maphosa turned the courtroom into a soap opera, spinning a tale of jealousy and betrayal. He claimed that a prison officer he referred to as “our husband” had plotted with Dube to get rid of him.
“The case was made up by my husband and the complainant. They wanted me out of the way,” Maphosa told the stunned court.
He added that he had confronted the prison officer about allegedly dating Dube and was told that it was none of his business. According to Maphosa, that marked the beginning of his downfall.
“I became jealous when the attention and favours I used to get stopped and started going to the fresh one, ama2k,” he said, referring to the complainant.
Magistrate Ncube dismissed the explanation as desperate fantasy, stating that prison is meant for reform, not romantic rivalries.
“The courts send people to prison to change, but when inmates commit more crimes inside, it shows that the purpose of reform has been destroyed. This sentence will serve as a warning to others,” he ruled before handing down an additional 15 years.
For Maphosa, his so-called “husband” may be gone, but his stay at Khami Prison just got a lot longer.
