Sikhala temporarily gets passport back

MDC 99 leader Job Sikhala, who is being accused of raping and impregnating his personal assistant has temporarily been given back his passport.

Sikhala had told the court that he wanted to attend a human rights workshop in Uganda. Sikhala (40) appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Anita Tshuma, who granted his request.

"On my initial remand date I instructed my lawyer to make an application challenging my placement on remand. He acted against my will and accepted a consent to bail by the Attorney-General's Office.

"I need to travel to Uganda for an international conference and will be back on June 10 to stand trial," he submitted.

Prosecutor Mr David Magwegwe opposed the application arguing that Sikhala was facing a serious offence and the period he will be out of the country was long and there was no guarantee that he would return.

"Our major concern is that there is a danger that he will abscond, our submission is that his passport remains with the clerk of court until the matter is completed. The nature of the business he is attending is not in the interest of the country," he submitted.

Sikhala, however, said he was not a flight risk as he was a family man with two wives and nine children.

"It is common cause I am a political leader, I will never abandon my constituency because of these concocted and manufactured allegations.

"I am so keen and enthusiastic to be given a chance in court to expose these allegations, which were built from a sting operation.

"I have faced more than 60 trials in these courts, all of which I have not absconded. There is no inducement whatsoever," submitted Sikhala.

Ms Tshuma ruled that the State's claims were not substantiated, adding that it was not in dispute that Sikhala was a family man firmly rooted in Zimbabwe.

She granted Sikhala his application and ordered him to return the passport on June 10. The allegations are that sometime in June last year Sikhala went to South Africa to source financial backing for his party and his fundraiser Okkie Volschenk offered him a place to stay in Durban.

The complainant stayed at the same place. After being introduced to the complainant, Sikhala offered her a job as his personal assistant after telling her that he owned a shopping centre in Zimbabwe.

He allegedly offered her a US$400 monthly salary and 20 percent of all money raised by his party in addition to organising a work permit for her.

On June 23 last year, Volschenk, Aaron Muzungu and Sikhala left South Africa for Zimbabwe and allegedly helped the complainant evade immigration officials and enter Zimbabwe. The two women and Sikhala went to his St Mary's home.

It is the State's case that after a week, Sikhala ordered the woman to accompany him to a purported business meeting and along the way, he drove to a city lodge and led the woman into a room where he stripped naked. He instructed the woman to follow suit, reminding her that she was an illegal immigrant.

She sat next to Sikhala and told him she did not like what he was doing but Sikhala was undeterred as he undressed her before raping her.

He allegedly raped the woman on other two occasions and she fell pregnant and later had a miscarriage.

On December 20, it is alleged the woman fled Sikhala's house and sought refuge at a friend's place. She was later arrested under the Immigration Act and was taken into custody.

She reported the rape case while serving her jail term in prison.