A 19-year-old man from Mpopoma, Bulawayo has been arrested for allegedly attempting to rɑpǝ a 78-year-old woman from the same suburb. The incident occurred on August 2, 2023, at around 3 pm, when the victim was waiting for other church congregants to arrive for a service at the SDA church yard in Mabutweni.
According to police reports, the suspect, Brighton Ncube, approached the elderly woman and sat next to her, claiming that she looked familiar. The woman became suspicious of Ncube’s behaviour and left the church yard to look for other congregants to accompany her home. As she was leaving, Ncube allegedly followed her, tripped her to the ground, and attempted to rɑpǝ her.
However, a passer-by interrupted the assault and Ncube fled the scene. He was pursued and arrested by a Good Samaritan and school security personnel at Insukamini Primary School. The matter was reported to the police, leading to Ncube’s arrest.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the arrest and praised members of the public for their active participation in curbing criminal activities. He urged the community to emulate this behaviour to achieve a crime-free status in the province.
“The complainant became suspicious of the accused person’s behaviour and then left the church yard for Mabutweni residential area to locate one of the congregants to accompany her home,” said Insp Ncube.
“When she was about 10 metres away, the accused person followed her from behind and tripped her to the ground forcing her to lie facing upwards. The accused person stuffed soil in the complainant’s mouth, closed it using his hands and went on top of the complainant and tried to unzip his trousers.
“He was interrupted by a passer-by who came to the complainant’s rescue.
