'Rapist threatens to bewitch victim (21)'

A BULAWAYO man has been arraigned for allegedly raping and impregnating his 21-year-old neighbour.

The man (26) allegedly told the woman from Pumula East suburb that his uncle was a witch-doctor who would block his arrest hence it would be pointless to report the matter to the police.

A court heard that the woman kept the alleged rape a secret until her mother discovered that she was pregnant.

The man was not asked to plead to rape charges before Ms Gladmore Mushove. He was remanded in custody to this Friday and advised to apply for bail at the High Court.

For the State, Ms Petronila Ngwenya said the woman was allegedly raped last year in November at Cement Siding where the man and the woman's mother are neighbours.

"The woman had visited her mother in Cement Siding and she told her aunt that she wanted to go back to Pumula East. The man offered to accompany her since he wanted to go to the city centre. He said they were supposed to pass by his house first and when they arrived the man grabbed the woman by her hand, pulled her to the bed and raped her," she said.

"The woman tried to fight but he overpowered her. After the rape she told the man that she would report him, but he told her that his uncle was a witch doctor and no one would arrest him. The woman kept the matter a secret."

"In December last year, she told him that she was pregnant and he suggested that they continue having sex. The two had sex several times until the woman's mother discovered that she was pregnant."

When asked about the pregnancy, the woman stated that she had been raped by the man and was six months pregnant.