Harare – Colleta Manyange, a 45-year-old woman, sits in Chikurubi Female Prison, a stark reminder of a justice system that seems to have failed her.
Convicted of assisting her husband, Forget Kuipa, in the rape of her 13-year-old niece, Manyange has served nearly five years of her sentence while her husband, the alleged perpetrator, roams free.
“November 28, 2019 is the day my life turned upside down. Since the day police knocked violently on my door in the middle of the night looking for my husband, my life has taken a turn for the worst,” Manyange recounted.
Manyange’s ordeal began with the sudden disappearance of her niece, who had been living with her after her parents separated. The girl’s behaviour, marked by unexplained absences and a pattern of delinquency, worried Manyange. She registered her niece with SOS, a children’s welfare organisation, who provided financial assistance for the girl’s education and upkeep.
“She had been staying with her maternal uncle and moved in to stay with me as she was accused of being delinquent. Since my brother, her father could not stay with her, I became the natural choice to take her in,” Manyange explained.
The girl’s erratic behaviour continued, including a period of continuous bleeding after she started menstruating. Manyange took her to the local clinic and later to Shamva District Hospital, where the girl disappeared again.
“I took her to Chakonda Clinic where she was given tablets to stop the bleeding. Later, some officers from SOS came and took her to Shamva District Hospital where they left her. Two days later, she absconded and came home,” she said.
Despite her efforts to provide a stable environment for her niece, the girl’s disappearances persisted. In one instance, she was found at an aunt’s house with swollen legs, claiming she had walked from Madziwa to Chakonda, a distance of about 25km.
Manyange, exhausted by the ongoing situation, decided to send her niece to live with her father. However, the girl continued to appear at their local shops, prompting Manyange to search for her. Eventually, she was taken away by her sister, Emma, who said she was taking the girl to the Social Welfare Department.
On November 28, 2019, police arrived at Manyange’s home at 2am, searching for her husband. They accused him of raping their niece and arrested Manyange for assisting him in the crime.
“When police violently knocked on my door at around 2am, I assumed that maybe Forget had been involved in some illegal gold panning activities, since he is an artisanal miner. I opened the door after they identified themselves and they rushed in searching high and low for him,” Manyange narrated.
“They asked for him and I told the police that he must be at Tsoka’s Mine where he was working that time. They then told me I was under arrest for assisting my husband to rape my niece. I was shocked as I had not committed such a crime. In my mind, I thought they were playing mind games and would release me if I disclosed where my husband was. But that was not to be.”
Despite Manyange’s claims of innocence and the fact that her husband was never arrested, she was convicted of assisting in the rape. She spent seven months in remand before being sentenced to 13 years in prison, with three years suspended. Her sentence was later reduced to 10 years and eight months, and she is scheduled to be released on September 6.
“I was in remand for seven months as they said the case could not proceed until Forget was in the dock. Forget was never arrested but I was convicted of assisting him to rape my niece. Till today, Forget is still roaming free. He never visited me in remand to check on why I had been arrested. Even after my conviction, he has never visited me. I expected him to come and let the court process to proceed,” Manyange said, her voice breaking with despair.
“My relatives have approached Shamva police on numerous occasions to alert them on Forget’s whereabouts, but police keep telling them that the case needs new investigations. My question is when will the new investigations be done? What is stopping them from investigating? Are they being bribed? I need answers,” she pleaded.
Legal expert Edward Madziwa explained that under Zimbabwean law, an accomplice can be convicted even if the perpetrator is not arrested or tried. He stressed that the prosecution must prove the accomplice’s involvement in the crime, including intent to assist and actions that facilitated the crime.
“This is because the principle of accomplice liability under Zimbabwean law holds an accomplice liable based on their own culpable conduct, independent of the status of the principal offender. To convict an accomplice, the prosecution must establish that the accomplice had the intent to assist in the commission of the crime and that the accomplice engaged in actions that facilitated or encouraged the actual perpetrator’s commission of the offense,” Madziwa said.
He added that the absence of a proven crime would mean there is no basis for liability for either the accomplice or the principal offender.
National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed that investigations into Forget Kuipa’s whereabouts are ongoing.
“We are grateful to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service for bringing Colleta Manyange’s case to our attention. We are in constant touch with them and I would like to assure the nation that the ZRP has launched investigations to establish what transpired and why Forget Kuipa, Manyange’s husband has not yet been arrested since 2019,” said Comm Nyathi.
Manyange’s case raises serious questions about the Zimbabwean justice system’s ability to ensure fairness and accountability for all involved in a crime.
