CHITUNGWIZA – A 23-year-old vendor from Chitungwiza, Kelvin Kudzaishe Mukosera, has narrowly avoided a lengthy prison sentence after being acquitted on charges of raping his 16-year-old girlfriend. The case took a dramatic turn when videos emerged showing the girl engaging in sexual activity with another man, casting doubt on the prosecution’s case.
Mukosera, residing at 21475 Unit N, Seke, maintained his innocence throughout the trial. He told the court that he came into possession of the videos after his girlfriend asked him to repair her mobile phone. It was while attempting to fix the device that he stumbled upon the incriminating footage.
“When I was given the phone by my girlfriend, I took it to my brother to be repaired,” Mukosera explained to the court. “When I got it back to return it to its owner, that’s when I saw videos of her being filmed or filming herself being intimate with another man. I immediately sent the videos to her father so that he could see for himself. That’s when she was questioned about the videos and she started accusing me, which led to my arrest.”
According to Prosecutor Munyaradzi Karimazondo, Mukosera, who earns a living as a vendor, met the complainant in January of this year. The girl, a Form 4 student at a local school in Chitungwiza, allegedly agreed to enter into a relationship with him.
Karimazondo further stated that the girl claimed she had engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse with Mukosera in December of the previous year, with mutual consent.
The case took an unexpected turn when Mukosera sent the videos of the girl with another man to her father, who then forwarded them to the girl’s mother. The girl’s mother confronted her about the videos, leading the girl to accuse Mukosera of rape. This accusation resulted in Mukosera’s arrest.
From the outset, Mukosera vehemently denied the allegations, insisting that he never had sexual intercourse with the girl. He claimed he was deeply hurt and disturbed by the videos of his girlfriend with another man, which prompted him to share them with her father.
Adding to the complexities of the case, a medical examination conducted on the girl indicated that the alleged rape had occurred some time ago, potentially unrelated to Mukosera. This finding further weakened the prosecution’s case.
Ultimately, the court determined that there was insufficient evidence to conclusively link Mukosera to the alleged crime. As a result, he was acquitted of all charges.
Magistrate Alois Midzi, in delivering the verdict, stated: “The court does not have sufficient evidence to show that you committed the crime, following inconsistencies between the evidence being presented by the complainant and what is on the medical records, which contradicts what is in this case. Therefore, you are free to go, you are not guilty.”
Mukosera had been facing a charge of Having Sexual Intercourse with a young person as Defined in Section 70(1)(a) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23. A conviction on this charge could have resulted in a lengthy prison sentence, potentially exceeding 20 years.
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