A 19-year-old man from Matetsi in Hwange District, Matabeleland North Province, who was arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl, has been acquitted.
Coglainmore Blessed Sibanda, from Khayalethu Village in Matetsi, was accused of impregnating the girl and transmitting a sexually transmitted disease on April 18 of this year. The girl is from Breakfast.
Sibanda was found not guilty and discharged by the court due to insufficient evidence. His lawyer, Thulani Nkala of Dube, Nkala and Company, argued that there were inconsistencies in the State’s case, as witnesses, including the complainant, provided conflicting statements.
The girl and her 13-year-old sister had sneaked out of their home on Independence Day to go partying, and their whereabouts were unknown for five days.
When they were found hiding in a bush on April 24, they told their parents they had been living there.
On April 26, the girl fell ill with stomach pains, prompting her mother, who was also a State witness, to take her to the police out of concern that she may have eaten poisoned food during her absence.
She was then referred to Victoria Falls Hospital, where it was revealed that she was pregnant and had an STI.
After questioning, the girl implicated Sibanda, claiming he had offered them shelter and raped her, resulting in her pregnancy.
Sibanda denied ever providing accommodation to the sisters or assaulting her.
In his application, Nkala argued that all three witnesses—the complainant, her sister, and her mother—contradicted their written statements, leaving no evidence to substantiate the essential elements of the offence. Said Nkala:
They claimed she had been raped on 22 April but in court they said she was raped on 19 April. The two siblings also contradicted during court testimony on whether there was a door or not in the room she was allegedly raped.
The complainant initially claimed the accused had closed the door behind her as she entered his room but in court later changed and said there was no door while her sister maintained that the accused closed the door.
It is accordingly prayed that the accused person be discharged at the close of the State case in terms of Section 198(3) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.
The girl initially told her parents that she and her sister had slept in the bush and only mentioned Sibanda after being taken to the hospital.
Their testimonies contradicted the State’s outline, including conflicting accounts of how their parents found them after five days.
A family relative was also implicated in the alleged rape, but the witnesses disputed these claims in court.
Regional Magistrate Mark Dzira found Sibanda not guilty and acquitted him after the trial. A court order for the termination of the pregnancy was issued in May.
The State alleged that the complainant and her 13-year-old sister went out without their parents’ permission on the night of April 18 for Independence Day celebrations.
They allegedly did not go back home the following day and decided to hide in a nearby bush, the court was told.
Sibanda was accused of approaching the girls on April 22 at a football pitch near his workplace and offering them a room for the night.
It was alleged that he later called the complainant into his room, closed the door, and raped her twice with a condom.
When the girl complained of stomach pains, her mother took her to the police instead of the hospital.
She was referred to Victoria Falls Hospital, where it was confirmed that she was pregnant and had a sexually transmitted disease. The girl implicated Sibanda, leading to his arrest.
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