Court acquits traffic cop in underage sex case

The Masvingo High Court has overturned both the conviction and five-year jail term imposed on a Gweru traffic police officer, Michael Jackson (32), who had been found guilty of having sexual intercourse with a minor.

Jackson, who had been serving at the Gweru Traffic Section, was sentenced by regional magistrate Christopher Maturure in 2023 after being cleared of rape but convicted on a lesser charge of having sexual intercourse with a minor. He had been sentenced to five years, with two years suspended on condition of good behaviour.

Unhappy with both the conviction and sentence, Jackson, represented by lawyer Esau Mandipa of Mandipa, Makwara and Chikukwa Legal Practice, appealed to the Masvingo High Court.

Justice Garainesu Mawadze, in a ruling delivered by consent, upheld the appeal.

"The convictions in respect of counts one to three be and are hereby quashed, and the sentence imposed by the court a quo set aside and substituted with the following: the accused is found not guilty in respect of all three counts and is acquitted," the order read.

According to court records, the allegations stemmed from October 28, 2022, when the complainant, then aged 14, returned home late from a party. Finding her parents' door locked, she allegedly encountered Jackson outside his house. Prosecutors said he later lured her into his vehicle, bought her food, and had intercourse with her without consent before taking her back to his residence, where the complainant allegedly spent the night.

Her parents reported the matter the following morning, leading to Jackson's arrest.

At trial, Jackson pleaded not guilty to rape. The magistrate concluded that he had engaged in consensual intercourse with the complainant—who was below the legal age of consent—and convicted him on that basis.

However, the High Court ruling now clears Jackson of all charges, effectively setting aside both the conviction and the sentence.