Judul : Pastor Escapes 20 Year Jail Term - Court Hears Rape Was Reported 12 Years Later
link : Pastor Escapes 20 Year Jail Term - Court Hears Rape Was Reported 12 Years Later
Pastor Escapes 20 Year Jail Term - Court Hears Rape Was Reported 12 Years Later
A Harare pastor has been spared from serving a 20-year jail term after the High Court quashed his conviction and sentence, having found that the lower court erred in finding him guilty.
Jeane Pierre Dusabe was jailed by a Harare magistrate for allegedly raping and indecently assaulting a minor girl he took custody of after her parents divorced back in 2014.
The rape only emerged ten years later, when the girl got married, with a formal report being made later in 2023.
The court heard, Dusabe was aged 39 while the girl was aged 12 years when the offence was allegedly committed.
The allegations in count one were that the appellant indecently assaulted the complainant once at a house in Harare.
On the second count, it was alleged that on dates unknown to the prosecutor between the years 2014 and 2022 and at different places in Harare and Masvingo, the appellant had sexual intercourse with the complainant without her consent on several occasions.
Dusabe was charged with one count of rape and another of indecent assault.
The complainant's testimony was that sometime in 2014 Dusabe touched her private parts when her aunt was away on a trip to South Africa.
She was having swimming lessons conducted by Dusabe in a pool at her home in Mandara, together with her sister, who was also a minor.
On the same day, around midnight, the appellant came into the room, got into the blankets, and got on top of her.
She awoke to find the appellant on top of her before he raped her while covering her mouth.
She said after this incident, the appellant had sexual intercourse with her without her consent several times at different homes they stayed in.
She also said sometime in 2015 on unknown dates and in Hatfield, the appellant would occasionally transport her to and from school using his commuter omnibus. It is alleged that during these times, the appellant would take advantage of the complainant and have sexual intercourse with her without her consent at a bushy area in Arlington.
The complainant also told the court a quo that sometime in March 2022, on an unknown date, she fell sick and sought the appellant's help.
She said Dusabe suggested to her that they go to Masvingo to a doctor whom he knew who could treat her.
Whilst there, Dusabe had sexual intercourse with her four times without her consent, after his relatives, whom they had found at his house, had left for Harare.
The alleged rape only surfaced after her husband confronted her over her virginity when they got married.
She told her that Dusabe had raped her several times.
The husband then told church members in 2022 but a formal report was made two years later.
The trial court found Dusabe guilty of rape and indecent assault before sentencing him to 20 years' imprisonment.
Aggrieved, he mounted the present application, complaining that the lower court erred in convicting him when there was no evidence linking him to the alleged crimes.
Dusabe proved that his wife never visited South Africa in 2014 by producing her passport.
Three relatives testified that Dusabe never resided at a house with a functional swimming pool.
His lawyer said the lower court was wrong in finding that the delay in reporting the rape was reasonable when one considers the manner in which the offence surfaced and material discrepancies in the evidence of the complainant.
He also said the alleged rape in Masvingo took place when the complainant was already married and that she failed to disclose it, then was therefore unreasonable.
High Court judge Justice Christopher Dube Banda upheld Dusabe's appeal, ruling that the report of rape does not meet the requirements for admissibility.
"The trial court erred in failing to make findings on material aspects of the case.
"The delay in reporting the alleged rape and indecent assault and the circumstances under which the disclosure was made render the complaint doubtful and unreasonable.
"Consequently, the State evidence led is not reliable and safe to convict on.
"The appellant's story is convincing.
"The State failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
"The evidence that was placed before the court did not meet the required threshold when regard is had to the evidence of the State witnesses.
"On that basis, this court is obliged to interfere with the findings of the trial court.
"The evidence being unreliable, it was unsafe to convict the appellant on its basis.
"Accordingly, the court finds that the State's concession was properly made. The appeal succeeds. As a result, it is ordered that the appeal against both conviction and sentence is upheld.
The court a quo's conviction and sentence be and is hereby set aside and in its place is substituted the following; "The accused is found not guilty and acquitted," the judge ruled.
Copyright 2025 New Zimbabwe. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (Best for you).
Tagged: Zimbabwe, Legal and Judicial Affairs, Governance, Southern Africa
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).Demikianlah Artikel Pastor Escapes 20 Year Jail Term - Court Hears Rape Was Reported 12 Years Later
Anda sekarang membaca artikel Pastor Escapes 20 Year Jail Term - Court Hears Rape Was Reported 12 Years Later dengan alamat link https://www.punyakamu.com/2025/07/pastor-escapes-20-year-jail-term-court.html
0 Response to "Pastor Escapes 20 Year Jail Term - Court Hears Rape Was Reported 12 Years Later"
Post a Comment