adminMashudu Netsianda Senior Court Reporter
A BULAWAYO pastor, who allegedly turned a congregant, 16, into a sex slave and infected her with HIV and genital warts while claiming to be driving out a death demon that wanted to kill her father, has been granted bail pending appeal.
Greatness Tapfuma, 33, of Cowdray Park who is the founder of Kingdom-Rulers International Church filed a bail application pending appeal against both conviction and his 30-year jail term.
Tapfuma was in September sentenced to serve an effective 25 years in jail after five years of the sentence were suspended on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar crime.
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese granted Tapfuma $500 bail and ordered him to reside at his given address pending the outcome of his appeal.
The judge ruled that the appeal against conviction and sentence carries prospects of success.
“The applicant’s appeal must be argued and in the event of an acquittal, the applicant would have been prejudiced,” said Justice Makonese.
He said there was no evidence that if granted bail, Tapfuma would abscond.
“I’m not persuaded that it has been demonstrated that the applicant will abscond if given bail pending appeal. I’m satisfied that the appeal does carry some prospects of success and that the administration of justice will not be endangered if applicant is granted bail pending appeal,” ruled Justice Makonese.
Tapfuma broke into tears soon after Bulawayo regional magistrate Chrispen Mberewere convicted him on two counts of rape.
In his application through his lawyer Bruce Israel Masamvu from Dube-Tachiona Tsvangirai Law Firm, Tapfuma argued that the sentence was too severe and out of proportion.
“The applicant was previously granted bail pending trial thus was out of custody for a period of eight months during which he carefully observed his bail conditions. The sentence imposed by the court a quo is so severe and out of proportion with sentences in similar cases as to induce a sense of shock,” said Masamvu.
He argued that his client was unfairly convicted despite the unsatisfactory evidence by the State witnesses.
“The court a quo erred in failing to appreciate the many contradictions in the evidence of prosecution witnesses. The court erred when it dismissed the defence case and not give the full reasons as to why the court believed the State case and not the defence case in various evidences presented to the court a quo,” said the lawyer.
Masamvu, in his application, submitted that his client was a family man with one minor child and is also fully employed as a pastor at his own church.
Thompson Hove, for the State, argued that if given bail Tapfuma was likely to abscond given the gravity of the crime.
Mberewere, in his judgment, ruled that although Tapfuma’s victim tested HIV positive, there was no evidence that the pastor is the one who infected her.
Tapfuma’s victim said she decided to speak out on the abuse after she was treated for genital warts early this year.
The court heard that between October and November last year Tapfuma called the girl to his home and raped her in exchange for prayers for her father who he said was facing death.
After raping the girl, Tapfuma ordered her to keep the sexual act a secret as divulging it would provoke the death spirit to kill her father immediately. The girl began to notice some blisters on her privates.
As her condition worsened in December, she tested HIV positive and that was when her mother asked how she got infected.
She then revealed what had been happening and a police report was made leading to Tapfuma’s arrest.
The court heard that a church elder approached her and tried to entice her to drop the charges in exchange for a house, a car or cash but she refused.
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