A SAKUBVA, Mutare, man who was reportedly caught raping a 16-year-old girl in a maize field dragged her into his makeshift cabin and held her hostage before going on to attack cops with a crowbar.
John Ndlovu (35) was only arrested after a back-up reaction
team of police officers from the Canine Section came with dogs that pulled him
out of the shack.
Ndlovu’s victim had to hide under the bed during the melee
and was finally rescued with no visible injuries. On Monday, Ndlovu appeared
before Mutare magistrate, Mr Langton Mukwengi, facing rape charges.
He was denied bail and advised to apply for bail at the
High Court. Public prosecutor, Ms Peserverance Musukuto, told the court that
the suspect raped the girl on March 27 at around 7pm.
It is alleged that on the day in question, the complainant
was coming from Mangenje Business Centre when she met the suspect along the
way.
The accused person grabbed her hand but the girl freed
herself from the grip and ran into a nearby house for help.
However, the house owners chased her away after seeing
Ndlovu in hot pursuit while armed with a hoe.
The suspect caught up with the complainant and dragged her
to a nearby maize field where he raped her once.
While in the maize field, a passerby heard the complainant
screaming for help and went to investigate. But the Good Samaritan took to his
heels after the accused person attacked him with stones.
After sensing that his hide-out was now compromised, Ndlovu
dragged the girl further into the bush and raped her again. He then took the
girl to his cabin and held her hostage.
However, the girl’s mother was alerted by neighbours about
her daughter’s whereabouts after they had seen Ndlovu dragging her into his
cabin.
“She quickly went to the police and reported the matter.
The officers who first attended the scene from ZRP Sakubva failed to arrest the
suspect who was armed with a crowbar and a kitchen knife.
“Moments later, a reaction team comprising of officers from
the Canine Section came and rescued the girl. A section of the cabin had to be
destroyed as the cops descended on the suspect who was holding the teenage
hostage,” said Mrs Musukuto.
Dogs were set out on the suspect who was subsequently
overpowered and arrested. Following the arrest, the cops discovered an
assortment of ladies’ panties and dresses in the suspect’s cabin.
One of the investigation officers who spoke to this
publication on condition of anonymity said more women could have been abused by
the suspect as evidenced by the clothes recovered from the shack.
“In most cases, some of the victims do not want to come out
in the open as they are afraid of being stigmatised.
“We are investigating further because the evidence we got
from that cabin shows that a lot of things were taking place in there.
“We also recovered a national identity card belonging to a
lady and once we get into contact with her, there will be some headway in our
investigations,” he said. Manica Post
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