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Railwayman acquitted of rape

by Staff reporter
10 Feb 2017 at 05:39hrs | Views

A MOMENT of pleasure turned into a freedom threatening nightmare for a Bulawayo Beitbridge Railway company employee when his "girlfriend" reported him to the police for rape.

A court heard that-PFungwa Tsongora (29) of Southwold suburb allegedly took his girlfriend to his office at the National Railways Building (Parkade Centre) in the city centre and had sex with her.

The woman (20), of the same neighbourhood, told the court that they were mere friends and Tsongora had lured her to his workplace where he raped her.

The woman alleged that after the rape they went past a security guard at Parkade Centre and proceeded to a pharmacy where he bought her some morning after pills before he escorted her home.

Tsongora pleaded not guilty to rape before Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Mrs Sibongile Msipa-Marondedze.

He was acquitted at the close of the State case after the magistrate ruled the evidence presented in court was not enough to incriminate Tsongora.

Tsongora, through his lawyer, Mr Wish Ndongwe, argued that the pair was in a relationship and they had made prior arrangements to spend time together.

He argued that if she had been raped she would have sought help from the security guard who was in the building or from people at a pharmacy where they bought morning after pills.

Under cross examination, the woman said she never consented to have sexual intercourse and denied allegations that she was in a relationship with Tsongora."Your Worship this man was just a friend. He never proposed love to me. I never agreed to sleep with him. He forcibly grabbed my neck and kissed me. He removed my jean and raped me. After that he took me to a pharmacy and bought me morning after pills."

She told the court that they had met twice before the sexual encounter.

"At one point he came to my place around 8PM. I asked my sister whom I stay with for permission to go outside and see him. We sat outside our gate for almost 45 minutes. Before he left we hugged each other. But I never regarded him as a boyfriend," she said.

Source - chronicle