STARLINK APPLIES TO OPERATE IN ZIM

THE Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) says the global satellite internet provider, Starlink, which is owned by American tycoon, Mr Elon Musk, has applied to operate in the country.

Potraz director-general Dr Gift Machengete revealed this in Bulawayo on Tuesday during a question and answer session at a business function organised by the Ministry of Information Communication Technology (ICTs), Postal and Courier Services on the sidelines of the ongoing 64th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).

Starlink has become a topic of concern in the country’s ICT sector, with questions being raised on how it operates given its continued consumer growth and popularity worldwide.

Responding to the issue, Dr Machengete said the regulator was seized with the matter and was processing the application papers by Starlink.

“Then, why is Starlink not operating right now? The simple answer is Starlink had not applied and we would be foolish to then go and say come and apply, please.

“Now they have come to apply and we are in the process of looking at their application,” said Dr Machengete.

“We are also a regulator, we need to see how we regulate them. We also have to look at consumer and data protection.

“But, currently we are in the process of looking at their application.”

He acknowledged that there have been some illegal users of Starlink in the country who have since been cut off.

“So, in short we have not banned them. What we have just done is that those who have been using Starlink terminals were asked to have Starlink switch them off because we cannot allow illegality,” said Dr Machengete.

“I think they have been switched off and maybe there is some outcry. But, you see those were illegal and they will be regularised when they are licenced”.

He said the authority has a role to play in the operation of the telecommunications sector and will follow the right channels in ensuring services are provided and they meet the standards.

“Let me explain that at Potraz we are the licencing authority for telecommunications and we actually have a licencing framework and that framework is a converged framework whereby we check if the technology that you bring is not relevant, it is technology neutral and to reinforce that we already had geo-stationary satellites.

“We already have geo-stationary satellites licenced so there is no way we would then be blocking Starlink because we are technology neutral,” said Dr Machengete.

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American aerospace company, SpaceX, providing coverage to over 70 countries. It also aims to provide global mobile broadband.

SpaceX started launching Starlink satellites in 2019. As of early March 2024 it consisted of over 6 000 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) that communicate with designated ground transceivers.

Nearly 12 000 satellites are planned to be deployed, with a possible later extension to 34 400. SpaceX announced reaching more than one million subscribers in December 2022, 1,5 million subscribers in May 2023, and two million subscribers in September 2023. Herald

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TRANSPORTER AMBUSHED IN SA, BULLET LODGED IN CHIN

A 43-year-old cross-border transporter, Zwelani Mpofu is urgently seeking assistance from specialists to remove a bullet lodged in his chin.

Mpofu who resides in South Africa but hails from Emkhayeni in Tsholotsho under Chief Tategulu, was ambushed by armed robbers while travelling to Zimbabwe on December 6, 2023.

During the attack, a bullet struck his chin, leaving him in excruciating pain and paralysing his right hand.

Recalling the harrowing ordeal, Mpofu said he needs medical and financial aid as his ability to provide for his family has been compromised.

 “They were trying to rob our vehicle and the bullet hit my chin and was lodged in the neck, I am in a lot of pain and my right hand is currently paralysed,” he said.

“I am appealing for assistance, even If I can have a doctor who may assist in removing the bullet. I am even appealing for any help since I am now a cripple, I was a cross-border transporter but now I can’t fend for my family.”

His uncle, Pilate Ndebele revealed that Mpofu was hospitalised for three months in Botlokwa Hospital in South Africa following the attack.

He was discharged two months ago, but the bullet remains lodged and he now suffers from partial paralysis.

Ndebele said his nephew is still undergoing physiotherapy sessions.

“We are appealing for a specialist to assist him, we are even confused as when one doctor wanted to operate on him the other one said it was not a good idea since the bullet is in a critical area, so we don’t know which is which as he is a family man with children but now everything is on stand still,” he said.

For those able to offer support, contact Zwelani Mpofu on +27 68 224 5941 or his uncle Pilate Ndebele on +27 72 352 3426. CITE

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MAN BITES PITBULL TO SAVE SON

A MAN was forced to bite his pitbull dog on Saturday to save a three-year-old boy from further attacks.

The man, who was only identified as Phillip, helped rescue Takunda Junior Nyandoro, who was being mauled by his two dogs along the street.

Phillip was jogging, accompanied by his two dogs, when they attacked Takunda.

As the dogs mauled Takunda, Phillip had to take some desperate measures, including biting one of his vicious dogs, to try and rescue the child.

The minor sustained serious head injuries and was rushed to Sally Mugabe Central Hospital for treatment.

Takunda’s father, Kelvin Nyandoro, told H-Metro that Phillip did not show any remorse.

“My child sustained serious head injuries, traumatised and is even showing signs of being disturbed by the incident.

“Had he not kept his head down during the attack, the vicious dog could have cut off his throat.

“What is disturbing me is the attitude shown by Phillip.

“Besides failing to lead his dogs, he disappeared from his house and never showed any remorse. His parents are also not forthcoming, as well as the investigating police officer.

“Ndiri mushandi anotambura asina mari apa mwana wangu arikuda mari yakawanda yekuti arapwe, vakamurumisa nembwa dzavo havasikubatika,” said Kelvin.

Phillip could not be reached for his side of the story.

The case was reported at Machipisa Police Station. H Metro

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EX FOOTIE STAR''S MARRIAGE ON THE BRINK

IT’S now official – the marriage of celebrity couple Edward Sadomba, and his wife Sherlynn, is falling APART and, at this pace, a divorce appears IMMINENT.

Ironically, until H-Metro broke the story about the challenges destroying their marriage yesterday, the two had been hailed as a model celebrity couple in this country.

Such has been the couple’s closeness our sister newspaper, The Sunday Mail, even once described them as being “like coffee and doughnuts, salt and pepper or rum and coke.”

On Tuesday, H-Metro sources tipped us that the couple’s differences involved a nasty fallout between the two, which ended up spilling into the hands of the police.

H-Metro reporters were tipped that the case would be heard at Mbare Magistrates Court.

Sadomba arrived at the court in the company of his lawyer, Charles Warara.

His wife, Sherlyn arrived later.

However, the duo did not appear before a magistrate after the vetting officer decided that there were outstanding statements that were supposed to be recorded from witnesses before the matter was ready to be heard.

Sources said that Sadomba regularly locked out his wife, outside their matrimonial home, on several occasions when she returned home in the evening.

Yesterday, all the speculation ended when it emerged that Sherlynn has actually approached the Harare Civil Court seeking a peace order against the former DeMbare star player.

That is an escalation of the case and appears to suggest that Sadomba could have been a violent husband who was abusing his wife, who is a prosecutor, at the Harare Magistrates Court.

That would be a huge dent on Sadomba who, until now, has been celebrated as one of the best role models in local football.

It has now emerged that although they share the same house, the couple are sleeping in different wings of their house.

Sources have now been open to H-Metro, especially after the application for a peace order, with some revealing that the couple has received counselling, on a number of occasions, at police stations.

The counselling followed reports which Sherlynn filed accusing her husband of being abusive towards her.

“This has been going on for some time now and there were even whispers, when Sherlynn wore a neck brace, that she was injured during a fall at home after she was attacked but that could not be proved,” said a source.

“Now, that this case has spilled into the public domain and she has filed for a protection order from Sadomba, it means there was a hint of some truth to those whispers.

“A woman like Sherlynn will, obviously, weigh the consequences of such a move like filing for a protection order.

“She is a prosecutor and she knows that this will attract media attention and will be uncomfortable to his kids and to her reputation as someone who works with the public.

“But, for her to still make the move, it suggests that she has come to a point where she has said enough is enough and whatever comes will not be worse than the abuse she is suffering.

“It’s sad, when you think about it, because this is a couple that everyone admired and they have been together for a long time.”

Sherlynn revealed to The Herald, that she met Sadomba in 2001.

“I met him in 2001 when I visited my grandmother in Mbare,” she said.

“We dated from that time till we got married in 2008.

“I am absolutely affected by his fame in a good way because he is a people-person and he commands a lot of respect from his supporters and the general community, which consequently comes as a good thing for me.

“In a negative way, our lives are open just like the sky, we are mostly in the public eye. It’s not a good place to be all the time.”

In another interview with The Sunday Mail, she said:

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m a proud wife but sometimes you want to run your own race and have your personal identity – with your own credits and achievements – other than just being someone’s wife or mother.” H Metro

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MAN LOSES US$11 700 IN UK VISA SCAM

A HARARE man has approached the civil court demanding reimbursement of US$11 700 he lost in an opaque United Kingdom (UK) visa  and certificate of sponsorship deal.

Samson Gono cited Nyasha Patience Mandeya of Borrowdale as the respondent in his summons.

In the summons through his lawyers Tinashe Zinto of Zinto, Chivandire and Mavhaire Law Chambers, Gono is demanding back his money and 1% interest as from April 1 this year.

According to court papers, sometime in August 2023, Gono and Mandeya entered into an agreement, whereby the latter would assist him to obtain certificates of sponsorship and a UK visa.

It is alleged that Mandeya was supposed to obtain these within three months after receiving payment.

Gono submitted that he paid Mandeya US$9 700 on August 26, 2023. He made another payment of US$2 000 on August 31.

However, Mandeya failed to meet the terms of the agreement.

On January 15 this year, Mandeya acknowledged the debt, and made an undertaking to pay back by March 31, but failed. Newsday

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14 MONEY CHANGERS FURTHER REMANDED

FOURTEEN suspected money changers were yesterday further remanded in custody.

They are part of a group of 65 alleged illegal foreign currency deals arrested last week in Harare in a blitz on illegal foreign currency dealers.

Government says the operation is meant to protect the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) from being mauled by speculators.

Yesterday, the 14 accused persons appeared before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi charged with contravening the Exchange Control Act.

They were remanded to April 30 after Mangosi granted State prosecutor, Thomas Chanakira, his application to summon the officers who arrested them.

Their co-accused will appear in court today for bail application.

According to the State, the accused persons were soliciting for United States dollars from passers-by and people who intended to buy from a fast-food outlet in the capital.

They allegedly failed to explain what they were doing at the entrance of the shop, and subsequent searches led to the recovery of US dollars from them.

The police also seized their mobile phones wherein it was discovered that they had made several transactions through mobile money transfers in both ZiG and US dollars.

The suspected forex dealers were also found in possession of point-of-sale machines and automated teller machine cards. Newsday

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BLACKOUTS HIT ZITF

GOVERNMENT has blamed climate change for depressed power generation at Lake Kariba as blackouts spoiled the first day of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).

In March, the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) set the average electricity generation for Kariba Power Station at 214 megawatts (MW) against its installed capacity of 960MW due to dwindling water levels.

Zimbabwe and Zambia share equally water to generate power at their separate power plants at Lake Kariba.

As of yesterday, the country was generating 1 074MW broken down as 300MW from Kariba and 774MW from Hwange.

Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare power stations are currently incapacitated.

In Bulawayo, exhibitors experienced blackouts during the first day of the ZITF, with some being forced to turn to generators.

Energy and Power Development ministry permanent secretary Gloria Magombo said the El Niño-induced drought had had adverse effects on the country’s electricity generation capacity.

“We lost about 600MW in Kariba because of climate change,” Magombo said during a Township Economies and Rural Entrepreneurship forum organised by DEAT Capital at the ZITF on Tuesday.

“Climate change is real. It is affecting us and it has brought us back to a very constrained point of supply and for that, we need to work together not just as government, but also with the private sector in terms of addressing the supply of electricity.”

She urged citizens to adopt renewable sources of energy such as solar.

“Given the challenges that we have, you are better off independent and once we have a good system you can then sell the excess power to Zesa (Holdings),” Magombo said.

“We want everyone to be an independent power producer (IPP) using their rooftops.

“As a government, we continue to look at how we can capacitate communities especially with renewable technologies. As a way of climate proofing some of the programmes that we have in our rural communities, we want to work with universities to ensure the uptake and reduction in the cost of solar food dryers.”

Energy regulator, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority has over the past five years licensed over 100 small IPP projects with a capacity to produce around 1 300MW, but most of them remain non-operational.

One such project is the US$183 million Gwanda solar project awarded to controversial businessman Wicknell Chivayo. Newsday

 

 

  

 

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CHIWENGA THREATENS RETAILERS: WE WILL SHUT YOU DOWN

VICE-PRESIDENT Constantino Chiwenga yesterday warned currency speculators and singled out the retail sector, threatening to shut down supermarkets if they are suspected of sabotaging the new Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency.

Officially opening the international business conference at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo, Chiwenga said ZiG was here to stay.

“ZiG is there to stay forever,” Chiwenga said.

“The new currency will, therefore, not be subject to exchange rate volatility or manipulation by speculators.

“So, speculators somewhere [wherever you are] jumping around trying to play around in the supermarkets, we know [you]. Behave or you get shut down or we will lock you [up]. Two things.”

Government has introduced ZiG to replace the local currency that had severely lost value after being battered by inflation.

The local currency had been re-introduced in 2019 after President Emmerson Mnangagwa began his de-dollarisation drive.

Authorities say ZiG is backed by gold and foreign currency reserves as well as other precious minerals.

ZiG, introduced earlier this month, is currently trading at around 17 ZiG for one US dollar on the parallel market, although government’s official exchange rate is 13 ZiG to the US dollar.

“The ZiG is expected to provide a lasting solution to inflation expectations, which is critical for sustained price and exchange rate stability in the economy,” Chiwenga said.

“Given these boundless benefits, I, therefore, call on the public, the private sector, including the households, labour and businesses, civic society and the international community, to fully embrace and support the ZiG currency.”

Chiwenga also threatened gold smugglers, declaring that no single gramme of gold will leave the country unaccounted for, saying the mineral is needed to back up the new currency.

“We are going to put measures, strict measures, that can see heads rolling,” he said.

“Every gramme must be accounted for in our gold. We need our gold and because it is God-given. No one came with gold (to) Zimbabwe, but it’s in our soil.

“If we don’t want to mine it, it will stay there, but no one should touch it. So, all our money we are talking about here, the Zimbabwe Gold, is going to be anchored firmly, by our gold and gold, we get it from all our resources.”

Previous reports have linked gold dealers and smugglers to the ruling Zanu PF party, which, however, denies the claims.

In November, a relative of the Mnangagwa family, Henrietta Rushwaya, was convicted of trying to smuggle gold worth over US$330 000.

Rushwaya, who is president of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, was found in 2020 with gold bars weighing 6kg in her handbag at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare while headed for the Middle East.

She was, however, later fined US$5 000 for the offence.

A documentary by the Qatar-based television network, Al Jazeera, released last year alleged that politically-connected persons were involved in the smuggling of gold.

Chiwenga said government introduced the structured currency to ensure a stable macroeconomic environment, free from exchange rate distortions.

“This bold step symbolises the government’s unwavering commitment to the de-dollarisation programme, premised on fiscal discipline, monetary prudence and economic revitalisation,” he said.

“When we talk of, say, predominantly gold, we can’t keep tonnes of coal in the central bank, or gold or iron, or lithium or platinum, we will sell them. We have got our gold and we shall dig and every gramme of gold shall not leave Zimbabwe.”

In addition, he noted that the structured currency was expected to enable long-term business planning and encourage savings and investments in the economy.

This, according to him, would go a long way in restoring confidence in the domestic currency.

“The stability of the ZiG will boost investor confidence in the economy and lead to increased production and exports. The economy will also experience an increase in domestic demand as people’s purchasing power gradually improves amid low and stable prices,” he said.

“Government, through the central bank, will, however, continue to monitor interest rates to curtail speculative borrowing, to ensure optimal money supply and to keep inflation under control.” Newsday

 

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FROSTY RELATIONS OVER, SAYS UK AMBASSADOR

UNITED Kingdom Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Peter Vowles, has said the historic frosty relations between London and Harare are over as the two countries are now working towards restoring and strengthening bilateral ties.

Charmed by the Second Republic’s economic diplomacy-focused engagement and re-engagement drive, the UK envoy has expressed his country’s commitment to improving the two countries’ bilateral relations.

Despite the continued imposition of illegal Western sanctions over the Land Reform Programme at the turn of the millennium, President Mnangagwa has, since coming into power in 2017, declared that “Zimbabwe is open for business”, and reiterated his administration’s commitment to mending and expanding cordial relations with the global community of nations.

This has seen the UK becoming one of the biggest foreign exhibitors at this year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), alongside the United States and the European Union who are also exhibiting various goods and services.

“We are serious about wanting to have and deepen our relationship with Zimbabwe, and it’s not a secret that we have had a difficult relationship over history, but the past is the past and we are looking forward to having a strong and mature relationship with Zimbabwe,” said Amb Vowles in an interview yesterday at the UK pavilion.

“Yes, there are things that we thought we would not agree on and that’s okay, and the maturity of our relationship should allow us to talk about what we agree on and talk on what we don’t agree on and at the end of the day work together to resolve our issues.”

Asked to clarify whether Zimbabwe was still under the UK sanctions he said: “It’s a really interesting question . . . five Zimbabweans and one entity have sanctions against them, that means those five people and one entity cannot live or have access to the UK, but everybody else, about 16 million people can travel to the UK, and do trade.

“I think it’s best we focus on the future and strive to build relations that benefit both countries.”

Amb Vowles said the UK was back at the ZITF after a successful exhibition last year and was looking forward to tapping into more business opportunities having increased and doubled the size of its stand.

“This is an important opportunity to demonstrate the kind of trade opportunities and partnerships between the UK and Zimbabwe.

“We also see trade as a path to connecting our people and our countries for mutual benefit and that’s why we have to demonstrate the current connections for the future. We desire a strong trade partnership between the UK and Zimbabwe.

“We hope to make new connections with businesses and create new relations and new ideas and new innovations so that we can grow economically.”

Amb Vowles said enhancing bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and the UK was critical in unlocking win-win business opportunities for companies from both countries.

He said his country was already supporting Zimbabwe through financing the building of health facilities among other community projects meant to improve people’s livelihoods.

“We have got companies, particularly in the renewable sector where we are bringing solar power, which will attract many investors to come to Zimbabwe and we are bringing experts from the UK to teach and train the local people,” said Amb Vowles.

“I was listening to the mining company, which is generating hydro-power using British generators, and it was confessing that it’s clean and cheaper.

“But equally, it’s also about helping Zimbabwean companies to see opportunity in the UK and that could be through exporting products to the UK like your farmers, say blueberries or citrus, and getting them to the UK market.”

To facilitate improved trade, Amb Vowles said the UK has removed trade barriers. He said there are no duties or quarter restrictions and called upon UK companies to set up shop in Zimbabwe and for Zimbabwean companies to also grab business opportunities in the UK.

“What will make local people benefit from the UK the same way UK people are benefiting from Zimbabwe is through exporting products and getting recognition no matter how small the company is,” said Amb Vowles.

He said since taking over as ambassador of the UK in Zimbabwe some eight months, the two countries have registered immense trade gains.

“Our trade is growing massively because our exports and imports flow have grown to 76 percent over the last 12 months and that’s a huge increase and I want us and the embassy to be supportive of similar growth next year,” said Amb Vowles.

“But it’s true that this is a fraction of what it was, probably about a half in real terms compared to what it was in the 1990s, we lost a lot of ground I guess in the 2000s, and what we want to do is to maximize our presence here and rebuilt our relationships to get it where we were, and beyond,” he said.

“There is a lot more to be done and I think that there is so much trade potential. We did historically, and it’s a big indication of potential in the future.

“We have a lot in common in Zimbabwe, we have got a lot of Zimbabweans in the UK making contributions and when the Diaspora come home they must see opportunities here.”

Amb Vowles further commended Zimbabwe’s involvement as one of the pioneers of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA), which he said was crucial for driving intra-regional trade and reaping dividends from a wider continental market. Chronicle

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SURVEYOR FINED FOR $1,1 MILLION FRAUD

A QUANTITY surveyor at Chitungwiza Municipality, Tendai Mandihlare, who duped his employer into paying a company $1,1 million in 2021 after falsely claiming that he had hired a vehicle for the Works Department, has been fined US$300.

Mandihlare was found guilty of fraud and alternatively corruptly using a false document, when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Feresi Chakanyuka.

Ten months of the sentence were suspended on condition that he does commit a similar offence in the next five years.

The complainant was Mr Japson Nemusesu, the Chamber Secretary for Chitungwiza Municipality.

Mandihlare, of Zengeza 3, works under the roads section in the Works Department.

His duties among others, include preparing bills of quantity and preparing acquittals for grants received in the roads section.

Prosecutor Mr Ephraim Zinyandu proved that sometime in May 2021, Chitungwiza Municipality sought to undertake road rehabilitation under the Emergency Roads Rehabilitation Programme Phase 1 and 2 funded by a grant from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration.

The project focused on the rehabilitation of Maeresa and Gura roads in Chitungwiza. The local authority hired two tipper trucks from Ripcare Investments (Pvt) Ltd to ferry gravel to construction sites and payments were processed in five-day cycles as the jobs were being completed.

Vehicles AFJ 1301 and AFJ 3375 commenced work on the May 7, 2021 and Chitungwiza Municipality assigned its general hands to perform time keeping duties so that council could keep track of time the hired vehicles were being utilised.

For the first week, both vehicles were recorded to be used for the intended purpose as shown by valid time sheets that were submitted by the assigned timekeepers.

The time sheets formed the foundation of the payment made to Ripcare Investments Pvt Ltd, as they confirmed the contractor’s performance.

The court heard that due to non payment, Sam Bee Logistics withdrew the vehicle AFJ 1301 that had been subcontracted by Ripcare Investments Pvt Ltd after 10 days of work.

Investigations revealed that during the period when the vehicles were hired, Chitungwiza Municipality assigned general hands Nyasha Chirumiko, Gift Nyamakambo and Method Mutabeni to do time keeping duties.

They produced log sheets and submitted them to Mandihlare for further processing.

Mandihlare, as part of his duties, was supposed to prepare daily tipper time sheets using the general hands’ log sheets to confirm that the tipper truck AFJ 1301 indeed provided service to Chitungwiza Municipality.

However, Mandihlare disregarded the general hands’ log sheets by preparing Daily Plant Return-Hired Tipper time sheets that purported that vehicle AFJ 1301 had provided service to Chitungwiza Municipality yet it was not true.

Mandihlare misrepresented to his superiors by intentionally falsely reporting that vehicle AFJ 1301 had been providing service from May 17, 2021 to June 31, 2021 to Chitungwiza Municipality yet he knew very well that the vehicle had not provided any service as it had been withdrawn by its owners.

The Daily Plant Return-Hired Tipper sheets for vehicle AFJ 1301 were then submitted to the finance director for payment and the payments were made through a series of transactions that totalled $1 190 800.

Council suffered a prejudice of $1 190 800 and nothing was recovered. Herald

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MAID RAPES EMPLOYER'S SON, INFECTS HIM WITH STI

A 20-YEAR-OLD maid from Senga suburb in Gweru has been sentenced to an effective 15-years in jail for sexually abusing her employer’s eight-year-old son and infecting him with a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

Sitholokuhle Nyathi was convicted of two counts of aggravated indecent assault by Gweru regional magistrate Mr Christopher Maturure.

In mitigation, Nyathi pleaded with the court to give her a lesser sentence, telling the magistrate that she was driven by a desire to quench her appetite for sex.

For the State, Mr Sibangani Dube called for a stiffer penalty to be imposed on Nyathi to deter would-be offenders.

“The accused took advantage of the minor’s vulnerability and, in an aggravating manner, indecently assaulted him. By engaging in unlawful and intentional unprotected sexual intercourse with an eight-year-old minor, the accused not only breached the trust placed in her by her employers, but also abused her authority in the most despicable manner,” said Mr Dube.

He said Nyathi inflicted psychological scars upon the victim.

“What makes this crime more aggravating is that the accused infected the complainant with an STI putting the minor at risk of contracting other related diseases, hence a stiffer deterrent sentence is the only option to such an illegal act,” said Mr Dube.

The court heard that Nyathi shared a room with the minor, who is doing Grade Two at a local school.

“On the first count, sometime in January, Nyathi fondled the child’s private parts before engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse with the minor. On another occasion, she woke up the boy inviting him to share blankets with her during which she sexually abused him,” said Mr Dube.

Despite the traumatic experiences, the boy remained silent.

The matter came to light on March 30 when the boy visited his aunt in Kwekwe.

The court heard that during a visit to the toilet, the alert aunt noticed that her nephew’s urine was discoloured with some blood stains.

She took him to a local clinic for medical treatment during which tests were conducted and the results showed that the boy had contracted an STI.

Upon being quizzed, the minor revealed that Nyathi had been sexually abusing him.

The victim’s aunt notified the boy’s mother who in turn made a police report leading to Nyathi’s arrest. Herald

 

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MISTAKEN IDENTITY : RAPE SUSPECT FREED

A 40-YEAR-OLD man from Harare has walked free from court after rape charges against him were withdrawn before plea.

This follows submissions by the prosecution that he had been mistakenly fingered by the complainant as the suspect.

Tarauke Mpombwe was awaiting trial on allegations of raping his 17-year-old neighbour but just before the start of the trial on Monday, the State withdrew charges against him owing to a case of mistaken identity by the complainant.

The complainant was raped at knife point on December 8 last year, at around 1 am, by a man dressed only in a jacket who smashed open the door to her house, made sure the lights were out, and forced children in the same room to cover their heads.

The following day, the complainant went back home and narrated her story to a co-tenant who then accompanied her to the police leading to Mpombwe’s arrest. However, it was later established that Mpombwe had been mistakenly identified as the rapist. Herald

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