admin
Mathew Masinge
FORMER night club manager, Ronald Ngwenya’s appeal against conviction and sentence for sexually abusing his teenage niece has been dismissed in its entirety.
Ngwenya is serving a 12-year-jail term after being convicted and sentenced in July.
He had pinned his hopes for freedom on the argument that the schoolgirl’s evidence had discrepancies about who was her abuser in a house that had two other men.
The appeal was dismissed after the State made an about-turn indicating that the magistrate had not erred in convicting and sentencing him for aggravated indecent assault.
Earlier, the State had indicated that it would not oppose his appeal against conviction, but later considered a medical affidavit, which proved that the minor was abused.
High Court judges, Justices Happias Zhou and Benjamin Chikowero, sitting as an appeal court, only read out the operative part of their judgment.
“In the circumstances, the appeal is dismissed in its entirety,” said Justice Zhou.
Ngwenya’s lawyer, Arthur Gurira, has indicated that his client will go through the judgment and see if there are any grounds for an appeal to a superior court.
The State proved that on December 9 last year, Ngwenya went into the schoolgirl’s room and fondled her private parts while she was asleep at around 1am.
The girl woke up and Ngwenya covered her mouth, and inserted his finger into her private parts.
Ngwenya left the room and later met her while she was going to the toilet.
He dragged her back to her bed where he repeated the act.
The girl reported the matter to the maid.
Online Reporter