Hwange – A 19-year-old man, Coglainmore Blessed Sibanda, from Khayalethu Village in Matetsi in Hwange has been acquitted on rape charges after a regional magistrate found the state’s case lacking in sufficient evidence.
The case involved allegations of rape, pregnancy, and the transmission of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and hinged on the testimony of three witnesses whose accounts presented significant inconsistencies.
The alleged incident reportedly occurred on 18 April this year after 14-year-old girl from Breakfast who is the complainant and her 13-year-old sister had left home without permission to attend Independence Day celebrations. Their absence went unnoticed for five days, until they were discovered hiding in a bush on 24 April.
Initially, the sisters told their parents they had simply slept in the bush. However, two days later, the 14-year-old complainant began experiencing stomach pains. Her mother, who was also a state witness, took her to the police as she was suspecting food poisoning. The police referred the complainant to Victoria Falls Hospital, where a pregnancy and an STI were discovered.
It was at this point that the complainant implicated Sibanda. She claimed he had offered them accommodation and subsequently raped her, resulting in her pregnancy. Sibanda vehemently denied these allegations and stated that he had never offered the sisters accommodation or engaged in any sexual activity with the complainant.
The case proceeded to trial before Regional Magistrate Mark Dzira. The defence, led by Mr Thulani Nkala of Dube, Nkala and Company, successfully argued for Sibanda’s discharge at the close of the State case. Mr Nkala highlighted several critical inconsistencies in the testimonies of the complainant, her sister, and their mother.
“They claimed she had been raped on 22 April but in court they said she was raped on 19 April,” Mr Nkala pointed out in his application for discharge.
“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.”
He further argued that these contradictions, along with discrepancies in their accounts of how their parents found them after five days, undermined the credibility of their testimonies. A family relative was also briefly implicated in the alleged rape, but this claim was later refuted by the witnesses in court. The court also heard that a court order was obtained in May for the termination of the complainant’s pregnancy.
The State’s case presented a timeline where Sibanda allegedly found the sisters near a football pitch on 22 April and offered them a room for the night. He allegedly raped the complainant twice after she went to his room to collect a blanket. The State’s narrative differed significantly from the initial statements provided by the witnesses.
The complainant’s mother testified that her daughters had sought permission to attend Independence Day celebrations, which was denied. She stated that they left home secretly at night and were only found five days later. It was only after the complainant complained of stomach pains that she was taken to the police and subsequently to the hospital.
After considering the evidence and the inconsistencies presented, Magistrate Dzira found Sibanda not guilty and acquitted him. The ruling highlights the importance of consistent and credible evidence in criminal proceedings and underscores the potential for miscarriages of justice when witness testimonies are unreliable or contradictory.
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