Alleged Serial Rapist Linked To 16 Cases Arrested
Police in Bulawayo on Friday arrested a suspected serial rapist following the rape of 16 girls between the ages of 15 and 21 in the city’s western suburbs.
The suspect, Prosper Bhule (27), allegedly pretended to be a cross border transporter (malayitsha) who had been sent to deliver groceries to his would-be victims.
Employing the same tactic, Buhle allegedly raped girls in the suburbs of Pumula North, Pumula South, Pumula Old, Gwabalanda, Lobengula West, Cowdray Park and Magwegwe for the past two months.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed Buhle’s arrest.
She said the suspect is yet to appear in court as police are still conducting further investigations. Said Msebele:
A suspect in connection with the 16 rape cases that occurred in Bulawayo has been apprehended.
Police are doing their investigations and we shall give out a full statement in due course.
Last week police had issued a warning to Bulawayo residents that a serial rapist was on the loose, targeting female-headed families.
In a message widely circulated on social media, Asst Insp Msebele explained how the alleged serial rapist lured his victims. The message read in part:
He is targeting houses where only females are known to live or are present at the time. He arrives at your home and seems to already know people’s names.
He then tells a story that he was sent to deliver some goods by your relative in South Africa but the car broke down, before inviting you to jump into a Honda Fit to go to Gwabalanda to collect the said goods.
Along the way, he turns into a monster. The women are raped at knifepoint and almost all of them were robbed of their phones.
