News / National
Gumbura set to appear in court today
26 Mar 2014 at 06:45hrs | Views
INCARCERATED RMG Independent End Time Message Church leader Robert Martin Gumbura is today set to appear before High Court judge Justice Musakwa for his application to be granted temporary reprieve to execute his appeal against his 40-year jail term from home.
The disgraced cleric last Thursday submitted a record 1 000-page bail application seeking to persuade the court to grant him bail pending appeal against both conviction and sentence.
Gumbura (57), who is serving a 40-year effective jail term for raping female congregants, is being represented by Harare lawyer Rekai Maposa, who battled to save the man of the cloth from being jailed, throughout a month-and-a-half-long trial.
Gumbura's matter failed to be entertained on Friday last week after prosecutor Editor Mavuto requested for more time to go through the voluminous court record.
Gumbura's bid for freedom at the High Court followed last month's ruling by Harare regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya, who refused him liberty on the basis that he (Mujaya) had no jurisdiction to entertain a third schedule offence.
Gumbura was slapped with a 50-year jail term after he was found guilty on four counts of rape and one of possessing pornographic material.
The State has always maintained in the previous applications that in view of the lengthy custodial sentence that was imposed coupled with the fact that Gumbura was yet to stand another trial, he was likely to abscond once released on bail.
The disgraced cleric last Thursday submitted a record 1 000-page bail application seeking to persuade the court to grant him bail pending appeal against both conviction and sentence.
Gumbura (57), who is serving a 40-year effective jail term for raping female congregants, is being represented by Harare lawyer Rekai Maposa, who battled to save the man of the cloth from being jailed, throughout a month-and-a-half-long trial.
Gumbura's bid for freedom at the High Court followed last month's ruling by Harare regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya, who refused him liberty on the basis that he (Mujaya) had no jurisdiction to entertain a third schedule offence.
Gumbura was slapped with a 50-year jail term after he was found guilty on four counts of rape and one of possessing pornographic material.
The State has always maintained in the previous applications that in view of the lengthy custodial sentence that was imposed coupled with the fact that Gumbura was yet to stand another trial, he was likely to abscond once released on bail.
Source - newsday
