She is accusing Bright Nyanhete of raping her on a date in
Harare.
The complainant took to the witness stand after cancelling
a warrant of arrest that was issued against her on Tuesday.
After an oath was administered, the complainant told trial
magistrate Sandra Mupindu she wanted the gallery to be cleared as she wanted to
discuss intimate details of her life.
Nyanhete, through his lawyer Professor Lovemore Madhuku
opposed the application and argued that it would be prejudicial to his trial.
“We are very much opposed to the application because the
accused is entitled to a fair trial and the members of the public in the trial
will be able to assess the proceedings.
“There’s no basis for that application, she’s not a
juvenile, we submit that there’s no legal basis for the application as the
State didn’t make the application,” said Madhuku.
Prosecutor Loveit Muringwa motivated the application.
Magistrate Sandra Mupindu ruled that there was no
application before the court as it was not made according to procedure and
ordered the State to interview their witness and make the application if they
see the need to have the matter heard in camera.
The matter was rolled over to today for the application to
be made.
The court heard that the couple met through the
complainant’s sister, who is also based in Australia, after Nyanhete had
indicated that he wanted a Zimbabwean girl to marry.
On Wednesday, Masuku led evidence from the investigating
officer, Tsidzo Kaseke, who received the rape complaint on November 20.
Kaseke told the court after her initial report claiming
that she had been raped, the complainant returned to the police station on
November 26 saying she wanted to change her statement.
”She came back on November 26 saying she wanted to change
her statement and when I asked why, she said her lawyer-cum-friend had told her
that her statement wasn’t adequate.”
Kaseke said the complainant initially told her that she had
been in a long distance relationship with Nyanhete, who had travelled to
Australia to meet her for the first time.
She told the court that the complainant told her that they
went to her apartment and talked before he forced himself on her once on the
couch.
The couple then went to bed where Nyanhete allegedly raped
her again.
“She then mentioned that she drank a whisky that Nyanhete
had brought and she started feeling dizzy then he raped her on the couch and
then in the bedroom.
In denying the offence, Nyanhete told the court that he had
consensual sex with his girlfriend, the complainant, twice on the night of
November 13 and 14 November and denied ever lacing her drink.
Nyanhete said he was back home from his base in Australia
for his wedding next month.
He said the complainant was aware of his wedding plans and
was clearly aggrieved that he was not marrying her.
He said it was not true that he came to Zimbabwe to meet
with the complainant but he was here for his wedding and the two statements
were clearly given to the police to extort money from him. H Metro
0 comments:
Post a Comment