News / National
Doctor in court for raping patient
16 Apr 2012 at 16:04hrs | Views
The trial of a Harare medical doctor who allegedly drugged and raped a 21-year-old patient at his surgery opened yesterday at the Harare Magistrates' Court.
Dr Alfred Mamsa denied the allegations when he appeared before regional magistrate Mr Adiona Masawi.
In his defence through his lawyer Advocate Moses Mthombeni, Mamsa told the court that the woman, an economics student at Africa University in Mutare, had genital infection and he therefore could not have raped her.
He denied ever drugging her, saying he administered a painkiller but she never passed out as alleged.
Mamsa further told the court that as he was escorting the woman home, she asked him to take her to a food court where she bought pizza and returned into the vehicle.
"Your worship, if indeed she had been raped, how on earth would she ask the man who had raped her to take her to a food court and return to the 'rapist's' car," said Adv Mthombeni.
"I guess there were many people at the food court including security guards. Why did she not alert people that the accused had raped her. Instead, she chose to remain quite and went back to the vehicle and proceeded with their journey."
Adv Mthombeni said that the woman at that time was imagining things since she was in a state of confusion because of the effects of the painkiller.
During cross-examination by Adv Mthombeni, the woman maintained that Mamsa raped her.
She dismissed Mamsa's claims that he injected her with a painkiller, arguing that he drugged her with an unknown drug.
She said Mamsa instructed her to remove all her clothes for him to properly carry out the examination.
"After removing my clothes, he told me to lie facing upwards on the examination table as he needed to inject me a pain reducing drug. He injected me with an unknown drug and I felt dizzy.
"I then saw the accused getting on top of me and when I asked him what he was doing, he said that he was going to do it once and at that time I felt the penetration but I failed to push him away since I was too weak and dizzy. I then passed out," she said
The woman further told the court that she did not have genital infection and said that Mamsa only told her of the infection after the alleged rape.
She said Mamsa had not conducted any examination on her to ascertain the disease.
"I do not know if I had an infection or not because I no longer trust him, maybe he told me that I had genital infection to cover up the offence," she said.
"He is saying that it was impossible for him to rape me since I had infection but I do not agree with him since he committed the offence before diagnosing me and only told me of the infection after I had regained consciousness."
She further told the court that she didn't want anyone to know of the rape before her family and that was why she did not tell people at the food court.
Mr Masawi deferred the case to today to allow the State to call its witness Sergeant Lucia Maganya who recorded the woman's statement, to testify.
Prosecutor Mrs Kudzai Chigwedere alleged that on March 19 this year, the woman called Mamsa as she was unwell and needed to be attended at his surgery.
When she arrived 15 minutes later, Mamsa's receptionist had knocked off and the woman told him of her illness.
Mamsa is alleged to have proposed love to the patient before instructing her to remove all her clothes after telling her that the examination he was going to carry out would make her vomit.
After removing her clothes, it is alleged, the doctor told her to lie facing upwards on the examination table as he needed to inject her with a pain reducing drug.
Mrs Chigwedere said the woman was injected with an unknown drug and felt dizzy before she passed out.
She woke up after an hour and noticed that she had been covered with a cloth while naked and still feeling dizzy.
When she asked Mamsa what had happened, Mrs Chigwedere said he laughed and told her that he had got all what he needed from her.
He then allegedly offered to take her home and apologised to her without saying what the apology was for. The following day, Mamsa allegedly called the woman to apologise.
She then reported the matter to the police.
Dr Alfred Mamsa denied the allegations when he appeared before regional magistrate Mr Adiona Masawi.
In his defence through his lawyer Advocate Moses Mthombeni, Mamsa told the court that the woman, an economics student at Africa University in Mutare, had genital infection and he therefore could not have raped her.
He denied ever drugging her, saying he administered a painkiller but she never passed out as alleged.
Mamsa further told the court that as he was escorting the woman home, she asked him to take her to a food court where she bought pizza and returned into the vehicle.
"Your worship, if indeed she had been raped, how on earth would she ask the man who had raped her to take her to a food court and return to the 'rapist's' car," said Adv Mthombeni.
"I guess there were many people at the food court including security guards. Why did she not alert people that the accused had raped her. Instead, she chose to remain quite and went back to the vehicle and proceeded with their journey."
Adv Mthombeni said that the woman at that time was imagining things since she was in a state of confusion because of the effects of the painkiller.
During cross-examination by Adv Mthombeni, the woman maintained that Mamsa raped her.
She dismissed Mamsa's claims that he injected her with a painkiller, arguing that he drugged her with an unknown drug.
She said Mamsa instructed her to remove all her clothes for him to properly carry out the examination.
"After removing my clothes, he told me to lie facing upwards on the examination table as he needed to inject me a pain reducing drug. He injected me with an unknown drug and I felt dizzy.
"I then saw the accused getting on top of me and when I asked him what he was doing, he said that he was going to do it once and at that time I felt the penetration but I failed to push him away since I was too weak and dizzy. I then passed out," she said
The woman further told the court that she did not have genital infection and said that Mamsa only told her of the infection after the alleged rape.
She said Mamsa had not conducted any examination on her to ascertain the disease.
"I do not know if I had an infection or not because I no longer trust him, maybe he told me that I had genital infection to cover up the offence," she said.
"He is saying that it was impossible for him to rape me since I had infection but I do not agree with him since he committed the offence before diagnosing me and only told me of the infection after I had regained consciousness."
She further told the court that she didn't want anyone to know of the rape before her family and that was why she did not tell people at the food court.
Mr Masawi deferred the case to today to allow the State to call its witness Sergeant Lucia Maganya who recorded the woman's statement, to testify.
Prosecutor Mrs Kudzai Chigwedere alleged that on March 19 this year, the woman called Mamsa as she was unwell and needed to be attended at his surgery.
When she arrived 15 minutes later, Mamsa's receptionist had knocked off and the woman told him of her illness.
Mamsa is alleged to have proposed love to the patient before instructing her to remove all her clothes after telling her that the examination he was going to carry out would make her vomit.
After removing her clothes, it is alleged, the doctor told her to lie facing upwards on the examination table as he needed to inject her with a pain reducing drug.
Mrs Chigwedere said the woman was injected with an unknown drug and felt dizzy before she passed out.
She woke up after an hour and noticed that she had been covered with a cloth while naked and still feeling dizzy.
When she asked Mamsa what had happened, Mrs Chigwedere said he laughed and told her that he had got all what he needed from her.
He then allegedly offered to take her home and apologised to her without saying what the apology was for. The following day, Mamsa allegedly called the woman to apologise.
She then reported the matter to the police.
Source - TH
