He was today
sentenced to perform community service.
Katsande was
jointly charged with Benjamin Basikiti, a lawyer with Mutendi, Mudisi and
Shumba Legal Practitioners, who was acquitted by Mutare provincial magistrate,
Ms Annie Ndiraya after full trial.
Ms Ndiraya
convicted Katsande, and sentenced him to 12 months imprisonment, before
suspending five months on the usual condition of good behaviour.
The remaining
seven months were set aside on condition that he performs 245 hours of
community service at Chipinge District Hospital, starting on November 27.
In passing
sentence, Ms Ndiraya said she put into consideration that Katsande was a first
time offender, a father of two who had already lost his job at the National
Prosecuting Authority, and that his profession in the legal fraternity is now
non-existent as result of the conviction, hence sending him to prison will be a
double punishment.
Katsande and
Basikiti were arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission for defeating
the course of justice, a crime under Section 184 of the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9.23.
The case was
reported by the survivor’s father, leading to the arrest of the pair.
Mr Tirivanhu
Mutyasira appeared for the State, while Mr Takunda Musara of Gonese and Ndlovu
Legal Practitioners represented Katsande and Basikiti.
Circumstances
surrounding the case are that on December 28, 2024, the victim was allegedly
raped by her uncle at her home.
The
complainant’s wife reported the matter at ZRP Chipinge Urban on December 29,
2024 under CR 134.12/24, in which her daughter was the complainant and their
uncle the suspect.
The matter was
allocated to Constable Dzingai for investigation, which led to the arrest of
the uncle on rape charges as defined in Section 65(1)(a) of the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9.23.
On December 31,
the accused, represented by Basikiti, appeared at Chipinge Magistrates’ Court
for initial remand.
He was remanded
in custody to January 10.
Principal
public prosecutor, Mr Thembalami Dhliwayo appeared for the State.
On January 10,
Constable Dzingirai referred a complete docket of rape to the National
Prosecuting Authority for set down under CRB CHPR 125/24.
Trial was set
to commence on January 15, 2025.
The docket
which was referred to the NPA contained the victim’s statement, which narrated
how she was forced to be intimate with her uncle as well as clearly expressing
that he was indeed her uncle.
The survivor
impact statement also clearly indicated that the 13-year-old had reported a
case of rape.
All witness
statements corroborated the rape charge.
The State
outline also clearly indicated that the 13-year-old and her uncle were related
as niece and uncle, respectively. The outline also mentioned that the victim
raised alarm, but to no avail since she has a voice projection problem.
The matter was
allocated to Katsande, who was assigned to the Chipinge Regional Court for
prosecution.
Katsande and
Basikiti went on to produce a statement of agreed facts which had completely
different facts from the evidence in the docket. The agreed facts indicated
that the victim and her uncle were not related, and that they had consensual
sex.
With the
statement of agreed facts in place, the accused person (uncle) went on to plead
guilty for contravening Section 70 of the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform) Act, Chapter 9.23, having sexual intercourse with a minor, and was
sentenced to 36 months in jail, of which 12 months were suspended for five
years. He is serving 24 months in prison. Herald
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