GWANDA – A rapist who raped a woman on her way to fetch water recently stunned Gwanda courtroom when he said that the act was not rape because the complainant urged him on when he tried to withdraw in the middle of the sexual encounter.
Mvangeli Moyo of Sibanda Village in Avoca under chief Maduna did not refute that he slept with the complainant along Mbembesi River. He said he however, realised a few minutes after they started sex that the woman was on menstruation.
He said he stopped and tried to withdraw but the woman who was now enjoying the sex would not allow him to stop. She craved for it and urged him on, said the Moyo.
Moyo who was sentenced to 19 years in prison argued that this was therefore not a rape case.
The matter was heard by Gwanda regional magistrate Mark Dzira.
It is the State case that on April 20, 2018, the complainant was on her way from Mbembesi River where she had gone to fetch water and was pushing a wheelbarrow with 60 litres of the precious liquid on it when she felt a hand touching her on the back. The accused swiftly turned and saw a stranger holding a knife and was ordered to remain silent. Moyo grabbed the complainant and dragged her across Mbembesi River into a nearby bush.
The accused pushed the complainant to the ground and forcibly pulled her skirt up. He ordered the complainant to remove her pants and she complied. The complainant was on her menstruation and the accused used her pant to wipe off the blood and raped her once before falling asleep. This gave the complainant an opportunity to escape.
The complainant narrated her ordeal to a neighbor and a manhunt was launched leading to the arrest of the accused who was positively identified by the complainant with his dreadlocked hair, a green golf T-shirt, black satchel and black safety shoes. A stainless steel knife was also recovered by the village head Patrick Dube from the accused’s satchel.
Moyo was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment and five years were suspended on condition that he did not commit a similar crime in the next five years.
Mncedisi Dube prosecuted .
