adminLeonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
A PASTOR at Brethren in Christ Church in Binga has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for sodomising a 14-year-old boy whose parents had offered him overnight accommodation. The boy, who is doing Form One at a school in Lupane, suffered a ruptured rectum that made it difficult for him to relieve himself or sit.
John Mwembe, 45, originally from Chief Pashu’s area in Binga and is based at Binga Centre, told the court that the devil took advantage of the fact that he was not staying with his wife and tempted him.
He was convicted on his own plea to one count of aggravated indecent assault by Hwange regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga last Tuesday.
Mwembe, who has a pending case at Binga Civil court for bedding his brother’s wife, will however serve an effective 15 years after three years were suspended on condition of good behaviour.
Asked why he committed the crime, Mwembe, who struggled to hold back tears, said he was tempted by the devil.
“It was the devil that overpowered me. He noticed that I’d been away from my wife for a long time and so he tempted me,” said Mwembe.
Prosecuting, Bheki Tshabalala told the court that Mwembe sodomised the boy between October 12 and 14.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter