News / National
Gumbura's bail hearing postponed to Friday
26 Mar 2014 at 14:03hrs | Views
Jailed disgraced cleric, RMG Independent End Time Message Church leader Robert Martin Gumbura, who is serving a 40-year imprisonment term for raping female congregants, has now engaged advocate Thembinkosi Magwaliba to help him fight for his temporal reprieve to execute his bail pending appeal out of custody.
The matter is set to be heard on Friday.
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 matter is set to be heard on Friday.
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
