Online Reporter
B-Metro Reporter
A PROSECUTOR and a lawyer are in serious trouble after allegedly tampering with evidence in a case involving the rape of a 13-year-old girl in Chipinge.
Mutare Public Prosecutor Timothy Katsande (34) and lawyer Benjamin Basikiti (35) are accused of drafting and submitting a false Statement of Agreed Facts to mislead the court.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ), the pair conspired to make it appear as if the minor and the accused rapist were in a consensual relationship and unrelated, despite evidence showing otherwise.
“This deception led the perpetrator to plead guilty to a lesser offence of sexual intercourse with a minor,” read part of the NPAZ statement.
As a result, the accused rapist received a lighter sentence of 36 months imprisonment, part of which was suspended.
The NPAZ said the Mutare Magistrates’ Court has ruled that Katsande and Basikiti have a case to answer after dismissing their application for discharge at the close of the State’s case.
“The matter was remanded to 12 September 2025 for the defence case,” said the NPAZ.
In a stern warning, the authority added: “Tampering with justice in sexual abuse cases is a grave betrayal of victims and society.”
The case continues.
