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Nyore Madzianike-Senior Court Reporter
HARARE regional magistrate Mrs Gloria Takundwa will on Friday decide on whether Goodness and Mercy Ministries church leader Tapiwa Freddy has a case to answer when she makes a ruling on his application for discharge at the close of the State’s case.
Mrs Takundwa was supposed to deliver the ruling yesterday, but postponed it to Friday saying she was yet to complete preparing it.
Freddy, also known as Prophet T Freddy is charged with two counts of rape and another count of physical abuse.
He made the application for discharge after the State led by Mrs Sheilla Mupindu led all its witnesses, including Chief Chikwaka, and closed its case.
Through his lawyers Mr Everson Chatambudza, Mr Jivas Mudimu and Mr Malvern Mapako, Freddy then asked for his discharge arguing that the evidence led by the State was not enough for him to be put to his defence.
The man of cloth denied raping and physically abusing his ex-lover when his trial opened saying he had consensual sexual intercourse with her and she only cooked the rape accusations after he terminated their affair.
Freddy said the allegations were manufactured to tarnish his good social standing and were aimed at abusing the court processes.
“The allegations of rape have been concocted and crafted by the complainant purely as a counter report and a naive attempt to frustrate her case of extortion which is awaiting trial.
“Those allegations are clearly being motivated by malice and bitterness. The conduct by the complainant is a clear gross abuse of court proceedings and the accused will urge this honourable court to refuse to be abused and misused by unscrupulous litigants like the complainant,” he said.
Freddy described assertions that he used to have sexual intercourse with his ex-lover during her menstrual period as laughable.
“The allegations that the Accused was having sexual intercourse with the complainant during her menstrual period are blue lies.
Those laughable allegations were fabricated by the complainant to tarnish the accused’s good name and standing in the society,” he said.
Freddy also denied slapping his ex-lover who told the court of how she sought financial assistance from Freddy, which ended with the two having a love affair.
“On 15 August 2019, my husband (name withheld) who had been ill for a long time became serious and we had no money.
“On 16 August I talked to Prophet Freddy since he knew about my husband’s illness. I then asked him for financial assistance and he gave me US$2 500.
“I took my husband to Karanda Hospital where he later died on August 17. Freddy assisted us with a coffin and transport from Karanda. He was assisting me as a church leader,” she said.
The woman told the court that she visited Freddy sometime in January 2020 intending to thank him for the assistance he had rendered to her.
“After three months, he started proposing love to me. He said since my husband had passed away he could take care of my child. I turned down his love proposal and told him that it was taboo in our culture to have an affair before a year had passed since the death of my husband.”
“During that time he appeared to have agreed with me. After sometime, he continued proposing love saying he was afraid that someone would snatch me.
“I then insisted that a year had not lapsed since my husband passed away and he suggested that we could be friends as we waited for the year to lapse,” she said.
The woman told the court that Freddy requested to visit her rural home in Chiendambuya, Manicaland in November 2020 saying he wanted to assist her child with prayers since she was being trailed by evil spirits.
She agreed and they visited her rural area.
The woman told the court that upon their return from Chiendambuya, Freddy allegedly raped her at her residence in Harare.
“When we returned, he went to sleep on the bed and placed his gun in one of his shoes. I asked him why he was on the bed and he came to stand in front of me.
“He told me that he was now my husband and he removed his shirt. He pressed me against his stomach and lifted me by the back and raped me.
“I was crying as he was forcing himself on me,” she said.
She said after the sexual attack, Freddy apologised and wiped her tears with his hand..
The woman told the court that Freddy threatened her saying he would cause her dismissal from work if she disclosed the incident to anyone.
The following morning, the woman called her uncle to inform him of the sexual abuse.
She said after the incident, she later had a love affair with Freddy, which she said came as a result of fear from the threats she was receiving from him.
The woman said she eventually reported the abuse to her workmates.
Online Reporter