adminThere is no such person at B-Metro, a weekly publication by Zimpapers.
Mabhena’s trial took off after investigating officers submitted an affidavit that the said Nyikadzaramba was non-existent.
Although he pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape, Mabhena was convicted by Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Mark Dzira on Friday due to overwhelming evidence.
He was initially sentenced to 20 years in prison of which three years were suspended on condition he does not commit a similar offence within five years.
The State’s case as presented by Mr Lewis Maunze was that Mabhena was conducting a prayer session with other church members in a bush near Old Lobengula suburb when he spotted the girl passing by along Masiyephambili Drive recently.
He sent one of the church prophets to summon the girl to where he was and started prophesying that she was being used by evil spirits that would make her lose her mind.
He told the girl she needed some prayers as a matter of urgency, failure to which she would lose her mind.
Mabhena then invited her to the same bush for prayers.
The girl went to the same bush the following day when he reportedly proposed love and told her he wanted to marry her.
Mabhena told other clients he would not be consulted on the day so that he remains alone with the girl.
When the girl turned down his proposal, Mabhena then threatened that that he would pray for her to go mad and out of fear she consented.
The girl then told him she was an orphan and was working as a domestic worker in the same suburb and would be happy if she had somebody to marry her.
Mabhena took the girl to his place of residence where he locked her in the house and had sex with her for the whole night before releasing her the following morning.
He told her sex was part of the prayer session to exorcise the evil spirits.
After the State invited its witnesses, Mabhena claimed he wanted to invite his key witness, who he said was the editor of B-Metro called Mr Trevor Nyikadzaramba.
The girl told the court that it was not the first time Mabhena had done the same thing to other women.
Mabhena wanted the so-called Nyikadzaramba to testify that the girl told him she only falsely implicated him because she was afraid her employer would beat her up for spending the night out. He claimed that he did not rape the girl but that they were in love.
The girl’s employer testified in court that on the day in question, the girl had asked for a day off to go for prayers with a group of an apostolic sect members and did not return home.
She told the court that she started looking for the girl the following day before she returned in the evening when she narrated her ordeal.
The girl’s employer then accompanied her to make a report at the police station leading to the arrest of Mabhena.
Online Reporter