The case of a rape victim who died before her case was finalized by the courts has torched a storm in Chivi district, with the community threatening to mete instant justice to the rape suspect who is freely roaming the village, a development which forced the police to start fresh investigations.
Sources told TellZim News that police from Chivi district
are now reinvestigating, interviewing key witnesses to the rape case which
involved a 14-year-old girl who died mysteriously a few months after the
incident; after the community registered its displeasure over the manner the
whole case was handled.
The victim’s death resulted in the main suspect going
scot-free as she died only after an initial appearance at the court. Members of
the community, however are having none of it, as they are threatening to take
the matter into their own hands.
Masvingo Provincial Police spokesperson Inspector
Kudakwashe Dhewa could not comment on the matter as was yet to get an update
from the police in Chivi.
Village head Enock Shonhiwa confirmed the incident and
pleaded with the relevant authorities to intervene before the situation goes
out of hand.
“The situation is tense; I am pleading with the authorities
to intervene before the situation goes out of hand. There is need to facilitate
dialogue to ensure that peace is maintained,” he said.
Sources said after the death of the victim, the suspect
confined himself at home and did not interact with anyone until the village
head called for a meeting to try and address the matter.
“Our kids are afraid to pass by the suspect’s house or even
meet him in the village, notwithstanding women who are also living in fear. As
a community we are so angry and bitter; everyone was disturbed after learning
how the matter was put to rest when we all know that he confessed raping the
victim.
“We all know that he raped the girl. He confessed in front
of everyone after he was summoned by the village head who asked him why he was
isolating himself from the community. He then said he wanted to ask for
forgiveness from the victim’s grandmother who happens to be his relative.
“The village head asked him what he had done and he
confessed saying he had slept with a minor child. From then he started
attending meetings but if he ever tries to make any contribution there will be
noise of disagreement from the crowd,” said a villager who declined to be
named.
Shonhiwa could neither confirm nor deny that the accused
confessed but rather said it was true that he called for a meeting to try and
unite people in the community who are baying for the accused’s blood.
“When the incident happened I was not there, when I later
came back I discovered there was a tense situation in the village and I called
for a meeting to try and defuse the situation, through which I urged the
community to respect the law and accept him as one of theirs and now he can
attend some meetings.
“However, I now fear for his safety because people are
angry; who knows what one may think? I also feel for the aggrieved family and
the authorities should help bring closure because they are failing to take it
up,” said Shonhiwa.
Another source said it was not the first time the accused
was involved in similar issues as he was once summoned and cautioned by the
traditional leader for having an illicit affair with his nephew’s wife.
The accused is said to be living alone as his wife lives in
South Africa where she works, and does not frequent home.
“The guy does not stay with his wife as she is based in
South Africa and rarely comes home. He had an incident last year where he was
accused of having an affair with his nephew’s wife and the matter was heard at
the village head’s court so we never suspected that he could commit an offence
of a similar nature,” said the source.
Emerging details also indicate that there was a key witness
in the matter, with the family of the witness now living in fear due to the
circumstances surrounding the victim’s death.
“There is a key witness in this whole issue who saw what
happened but now the family is living with uncertainty fearing that the witness
may face the same predicament as the victim,” said another villager.
The villager however said some police officers visited the
witness’s father after this publication wrote the story, saying they had been
sent to further investigate, which could be a ray of hope for the aggrieved
family, although veiled in uncertainty as to how the matter will proceed.
Circumstances are that, on the fateful day, the late Andile
Mupedzi came back from school and went to the accused’s place, which is a few
hundred metres from her grandmother’s place to get some lemons since she had a
cold. Upon arrival, the accused instructed her to go into his house to collect
keys to his garden where the lemons were after which he followed her and raped
her.
She then went back home where she narrated the ordeal to
her elder sister who told their grandmother. The whole family was then
notified, during which the accused was present. He is said to have been
recorded admitting to the crime, also offering to compensate the victim’s
family, but the grandmother refused, insisting that they report the matter to
the police.
The perpetrator was later arrested but came back home a few
days later after being granted bail.
The matter was allegedly supposed to continue by way of
summons but the deceased’s family claims that the court dates kept on shifting
from then until February this year when they were told that they were going to
attend court on February 6, which was again postponed to a later date in the
month.
The family said they suspect that the accused had something
to do with the demise of the victim saying her illness was so sudden and
drastic as she got worse within two days and sadly succumbed to the illness
which had caused her to start bedwetting in her last days.
They also claim that the day before she died, she bled from
the nose most of the day and the doctor who was supposed to do a post-mortem at
Chivi Hospital had to refer the body to Masvingo where the autopsy was done by
a police doctor.
The grieving family has in their possession documents that
they believe could also be used as proof of what had happened to Andile,
including the medical report that proved she was raped, documents that they
availed to this publication.
Masvingo-based lawyer Advocate Collen Maboke earlier told
TellZim News that at law when the victim dies, the case will be closed because
there will be no one to testify unless there is extra evidence that could be
used to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
“If the victim dies then the case will be closed unless if
the victim had testified in court and dies before the case is finalized where
the magistrate or judge will use the testimony. It can also continue if there
is extra evidence that the accused committed the crime,” said Maboke.
His sentiments were echoed by Advocate Yolanda Chandata who said if the victim dies before the matter is heard then there won’t be anyone to testify so the case is then closed. TellZimNews
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