Man jailed for raping barlady

A CIVIL Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe employee will spend the next 13 years behind bars after he was convicted of raping a woman who works at a bar along Airport Road in Harare in December 2015.

Shepherd Rundofa (26) had initially claimed to have had consensual sex with the 26-year-old woman in denying the rape charge.

In passing sentence, magistrate Themba Kuwanda said cases of abuse of women were on the rise and perpetrators deserved deterrent sentences to discourage would-be offenders.

The court initially sentenced him to 17 years in prison and later suspended four years on condition of good behaviour.

It was the State's case that on December 9, 2015, Rundofa was driving to work when he saw the woman at a bus stop and pulled over to give her a lift in his car.

Instead of taking her to her workplace, Rundofa turned and drove towards Koala Park and parked the vehicle in a bushy area before demanding intimacy with the complainant.

After his advances were spurned, Rundofa forcibly undressed the woman and raped her once and drove her to her workplace.

The aggrieved woman immediately narrated her ordeal to her workmates and reported the matter to the police. Rufaro Mhandu prosecuted the case.