Robber, rapist driver jailed 41 years

A 24 YEAR-OLD Bulawayo man has been sentenced to 41 years for five counts of rape, robbery and indecent assault.

In one day, Qondani Ncube secretly used his employer's car as a pirate taxi and picked unsuspecting women whom he later raped and robbed, together with an accomplice who is still at large.

He was a personal driver employed to take children to school.

Regional magistrate Mark Dzira convicted Ncube, although he had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He sentenced Ncube to 41 years - three years for robbery, 18 years for rape and another 20 years for indecent assault and rape.

Ncube will, however serve an effective 33 years in prison after Dzira conditionally suspended eight years for five years on condition that he does not commit a similar offence within the period.

Prosecuting, Tinashe Dzipe told the court that on June 20, Ncube was employed by Treasure Sibanda who works at the National University of Science and Technology to ferry her children from Cowdray Park to school in Northend using her Nissan March.

"On June 24 around 6PM, Sibanda assigned Ncube to deliver some prescription drugs to a relative in Woodville. On his way to Woodville he picked up two female passengers who were going to Kingsdale.

"For count one, Ncube and his accomplice who is still at large and acting in common purpose pulled out an okapi knife and forcibly robbed the woman of her Nokia 1280 cellphone, small black purse with her national identity card, one big silver purse with four hairpieces, two necklaces, four pairs of earrings, one black jacket, a scissors, an ounce of black wool, a needle, woollen cap and one pair of sandals and $1," said Dzipe.

He said they also took the womaris national identity card, loaf of bread, full dressed chicken, a pair of ladies sandals and black formal jacket

The court heard that after robbing her, Ncube raped the woman before he did the same to the woman's friend.

"On the same day near 747 Sports Bar Ncube acting in common purpose with his accomplice who is still at large pulled out an okapi knife and forced one of the female passengers to surrender her Samsung Galaxy phone, black handbag, black ounce of wool, needle, scissors and a small purse," said Dzipe.

After robbing her, he inserted his fingers into her private parts before raping her once.

Dzipe said the two men took turns to rape the women.

During the trial it emerged that Ncube was involved in an accident at around 9PM along Airport road near Tegela, on the same day.

He was arrested after his two victims noticed an orange Nissan March parked at Southampton building and reported the incident to a police officer.

The police officer then discovered the owner of the car was a police officer - Pretty Mlala - who revealed that she had a friend at Nust who had a similar vehicle.

Police followed up and arrested Ncube.

The victims picked him out at a police identification parade.

Ncube in his defence said by the time the women were raped he had already been involved in an accident

He said he did not report the accident as he bribed two police officers who were on foot patrol

Ncube said he could not identify the officers.

Eight witnesses testified in the case.