News / National
Pastor rape accuser lied to 'fix' him
20 Apr 2014 at 14:00hrs | Views
A SEVENTH Day Adventist (SDA) pastor from Solusi University who is serving a 15-year jail sentence for raping his maid is likely to be set free after the complainant filed an affidavit confessing that she laid false rape charges to "fix" the pastor for withholding her wages.
Ms Nhlambuluko Moyo (23) from Tsholotsho last month deposed an affidavit seen by Sunday News, confessing that she laid the charges out of malice and spitefulness.
Edias Ncube (37) of Msilahobe under Chief Sogwala in Lower Gweru, but was residing at Solusi University cottages where his wife was a lecturer, was convicted on four counts of rape and sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2012. He has served nearly two years of the total sentence.
The news of the alleged rape shocked the SDA congregation across the country.
According to court records, Ms Moyo tried to withdraw the charges in 2012 but the magistrate, Mr Goodwill Sengweni, refused on the grounds that it was not a genuine withdrawal.
In the new affidavit deposed by the complainant, she alleges that she was scared to tell the court the truth due to fear of being charged for perjury.
"I could not tell the court that I had lied under oath out of malice, anger, hatred and that I reported Ncube for allegedly raping me so as to fix him.
"I feared that the court would order my arrest for perjury," admitted Moyo.
The complainant also said that from the time the pastor was convicted up to now she had never known peace and her conscience had continuously troubled her for "misguided vengeance".
"Sometime last month I decided to gather enough courage and confided to my mother that I regretted all the harm that I caused. The pastor has been imprisoned for the crime of rape, which he did not commit."
She added: "I shudder to think about the damage I have caused to him in my misguided quest for vengeance. He lost his job as a pastor, his reputation was tattered, his family disintegrated and the children have suffered after the wrongful incarceration of their father for allegedly raping me, when in fact he is an innocent victim of circumstances."
The complainant has asked the Bulawayo High Court, to rectify the travesty of justice.
"I respectfully submit that the honourable court rectify this gross miscarriage of justice caused by myself out of cruelty. I repeat once again that Ncube is an innocent man who was just a victim of circumstances. He never raped me at any particular point in our stay together," reads the affidavit.
Although Ncube had pleaded not guilty to all counts, the court found him guilty due to overwhelming evidence and aggravating circumstances that he raped a domestic worker whose trust was in him as a guardian. The State's case was that Ncube proposed to a 21-year-old woman (Moyo) who was working at his house as a domestic worker and when she turned him down, he started threatening her with death and raping her each time his wife was not at home.
In his warned and cautioned statement, Ncube said he did not rape the woman but she consented and she would sneak into his bedroom where they would have sex. In terms of the High Court rules, a review of trial is supposed to be made within eight weeks from the date of conviction. The lawyer representing Ncube, Mr Dumisani Dube of Cheda and Partners, admitted that despite the admission of gross malice and lies by Ms Moyo it might take many months before the pastor is released from prison.
"In terms of the court rules, you apply for a court review within eight weeks. In this instance we are dealing with a situation where the incarcerated person has been in prison for nearly two years," he said.
"I applied for a condonation based on new crucial evidence we obtained. The Attorney-General's office granted us the condonation."
A condonation is an application for the court to condone a late court review application.
"We are dealing with a case where the victim is behind bars and the offender is free. We will ask the High Court to expedite the case as soon as they sit so as to correct this sad travesty of justice," Mr Dube said.
Ms Nhlambuluko Moyo (23) from Tsholotsho last month deposed an affidavit seen by Sunday News, confessing that she laid the charges out of malice and spitefulness.
Edias Ncube (37) of Msilahobe under Chief Sogwala in Lower Gweru, but was residing at Solusi University cottages where his wife was a lecturer, was convicted on four counts of rape and sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2012. He has served nearly two years of the total sentence.
The news of the alleged rape shocked the SDA congregation across the country.
According to court records, Ms Moyo tried to withdraw the charges in 2012 but the magistrate, Mr Goodwill Sengweni, refused on the grounds that it was not a genuine withdrawal.
In the new affidavit deposed by the complainant, she alleges that she was scared to tell the court the truth due to fear of being charged for perjury.
"I could not tell the court that I had lied under oath out of malice, anger, hatred and that I reported Ncube for allegedly raping me so as to fix him.
"I feared that the court would order my arrest for perjury," admitted Moyo.
The complainant also said that from the time the pastor was convicted up to now she had never known peace and her conscience had continuously troubled her for "misguided vengeance".
"Sometime last month I decided to gather enough courage and confided to my mother that I regretted all the harm that I caused. The pastor has been imprisoned for the crime of rape, which he did not commit."
She added: "I shudder to think about the damage I have caused to him in my misguided quest for vengeance. He lost his job as a pastor, his reputation was tattered, his family disintegrated and the children have suffered after the wrongful incarceration of their father for allegedly raping me, when in fact he is an innocent victim of circumstances."
The complainant has asked the Bulawayo High Court, to rectify the travesty of justice.
"I respectfully submit that the honourable court rectify this gross miscarriage of justice caused by myself out of cruelty. I repeat once again that Ncube is an innocent man who was just a victim of circumstances. He never raped me at any particular point in our stay together," reads the affidavit.
Although Ncube had pleaded not guilty to all counts, the court found him guilty due to overwhelming evidence and aggravating circumstances that he raped a domestic worker whose trust was in him as a guardian. The State's case was that Ncube proposed to a 21-year-old woman (Moyo) who was working at his house as a domestic worker and when she turned him down, he started threatening her with death and raping her each time his wife was not at home.
In his warned and cautioned statement, Ncube said he did not rape the woman but she consented and she would sneak into his bedroom where they would have sex. In terms of the High Court rules, a review of trial is supposed to be made within eight weeks from the date of conviction. The lawyer representing Ncube, Mr Dumisani Dube of Cheda and Partners, admitted that despite the admission of gross malice and lies by Ms Moyo it might take many months before the pastor is released from prison.
"In terms of the court rules, you apply for a court review within eight weeks. In this instance we are dealing with a situation where the incarcerated person has been in prison for nearly two years," he said.
"I applied for a condonation based on new crucial evidence we obtained. The Attorney-General's office granted us the condonation."
A condonation is an application for the court to condone a late court review application.
"We are dealing with a case where the victim is behind bars and the offender is free. We will ask the High Court to expedite the case as soon as they sit so as to correct this sad travesty of justice," Mr Dube said.
Source - Sunday News
