A RAPIST from Jambezi in Hwange stunned the court last Thursday after he claimed that his mentally-challenged victim had forced him to be intimate with her, after threatening to file a false rape charge if he resisted her advances.
Muhongo Nyoni (39) made the claims when he appeared before Hwange Regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga where he was convicted due to overwhelming evidence weighing against him.
He was sentenced to 12 years in jail.
Two years of the sentence were suspended on condition of good behaviour, leaving him to serve an effective 10-year jail term.
Initially, Nyoni told the court that the 27-year-old woman had consented to sex with him, but he later changed his plea, saying the woman forced him to have sex with her.
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| Rapist claims mentally-ill woman forced him into sex |
“She forced me to sleep with her and threatened to fabricate rape charges against me if I refused,” he said.
“Your worship, she lay on the ground and demonstrated how she was going to lie to the police that I raped her if I refused. Therefore, I had no choice but to accept. I was sexually weak, but she said I must force myself in and will recover during the action.”
“Your worship, she lay on the ground and demonstrated how she was going to lie to the police that I raped her if I refused. Therefore, I had no choice but to accept. I was sexually weak, but she said I must force myself in and will recover during the action.”
The court heard that on January 3 this year, the woman passed by Nyoni’s home and he offered to accompany her, but she refused.
Nyoni followed her from a distance and caught up with her at a secluded place before proposing love to her, but she spurned him.
He then demanded to be intimate with her, but she still refused.
The woman tried to run away, but Nyoni gave chase and tripped her to the ground before raping her.
After the rape, the woman went to Nyoni’s home where she spilled the beans to his wife and later reported the matter to her parents, leading to Nyoni’s arrest.
