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Codelia Mondela, Court Reporter
A SELF-PROCLAIMED prophet from Bulawayo allegedly raped and impregnated his 20-year-old former wife’s niece.
The man (42) from Cowdray Park suburb allegedly treated the woman for a stomach problem and proposed love to her. When she turned him down he allegedly raped her several times.
The man pleaded not guilty to rape before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mrs Sibongile Msipa-Marondedze who remanded him out of custody to June 22 for trial.
In a warned and cautioned statement, the woman said she experienced problems with her pregnancy and the man gave her herbs to drinks, but she suffered a miscarriage.
“The man proposed to me and I refused as I regarded him as my father. He would come to my aunt’s house after she had gone to work and one day he sneaked into my blankets and raped me,” she said.
The woman said her uncle continued raping her while threatening to kill her until she fell pregnant.
Prosecuting, Miss Concilia Ncube said the man who was known to be a prophet allegedly raped the woman in August last year after she came to the city from the rural areas.
She said the man frequently visited the woman’s house where she was staying with her aunt.
“He took advantage of his ex-wife’s absence and raped the woman several times,” she said.
A week ago, a bishop at the Church Ways of Salvation Apostolic in Bulawayo was sentenced to 21 years in prison for raping his daughter while telling her he had been instructed to do so by the Holy Spirit.
The bishop (49), a father of six, started raping his daughter when she was 14-years-old after she had been raped by a neighbour.
He would tell her that she was “extremely beautiful” but could not marry her as she was his daughter.
@MondelaC
Bongani Moyo
Online Reporter