The ManicaPost
Court Correspondent
RUSAPE businessman Cleopas Mugomba was last week acquitted by regional magistrate Mrs Bianca Makwande on charges of sexually abusing his maid and stealing her mobile phone.
Mugomba (44), who is married to a High Court judge, was facing charges of rape, attempted rape and theft.
The burly businessman, through his lawyers Mr Admire Rubaya and Mr Oliver Marwa, had pleaded not guilty to the three charges.
In her judgment, Mrs Makwande said the State failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he committed the three offences and “the accused person is therefore acquitted”.
She said the medical affidavit that was produced in court showed that indeed there was penetration, but lacked evidence on when the alleged rape occurred.
“I have difficulties in accepting the manner in which the complainant told the court she was raped. Among other things, my reservations are steeped in the following. Firstly, the layers of clothing that the complainant was in, make it impossible, in my view, for a man of the stature of the accused to have been able to peel off using two hands while the same person concentrated with subduing the complainant,” Mrs Makwande’s judgment reads.
Mrs Makwanda further said in her ruling that the complainant appeared to have made the false report after being asked to show her phone, which Mugomba suspected she was using to communicate with his brother-in-law despite instructions otherwise.
The court also observed that the allegations were fabricated to tarnish the image of the judge married to Mugomba.
“The accused in his case highlighted the hate that characterised the relationship between his wife and himself on the one hand and his wife’s brother and his wife on the other hand. This, the accused graphically demonstrated by the photographs and various lawsuits that flew between the parties. Besides admitting through her teeth that when the accused demanded the phone she was on the WhatsApp platform, she rushed to switch off the phone instead … The alleged theft of the cell phone in count 3 could actually be a red herring. The complainant might actually have gotten rid of the cell phone in order to obliterate any evidence implicating her in the strict rule against associating with the enemy.”
“I find some difficulties in accepting the manner the complainant says she was raped by the accused person,” she said.
Mrs Makwande said another confusing aspect was that the complainant alleged that before she was raped Mugomba looked for a banana-flavored condom which he allegedly wore.
She said if what the complainant said was saying the truth then why didn’t she escape from the room when Mugomba was looking for the condom since the doors were open.
Mrs Makwande said the complainant, as an adult, never reported the rape to anyone when she got home.
“The complainant is an adult who is sexually active and did not report the matter to anyone when she got home, which raises suspicion,” she said.
In her testimony, the complainant told the court that she was afraid to report the matter because of the accused’s wife’s status.
