Man rapes woman at axe point

A 25-year-old man from Thuthukani Village in Esigodini has been remanded in custody after allegedly ambushing and raping a 45-year-old woman from his village.

The suspect, Samuel Nyoni, appeared before Gwanda regional magistrate Sithembiso Ndebele facing a rape charge. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody to 6 November for trial.

Prosecutor Karen Gundani told the court that the incident occurred on 20 August, when Nyoni allegedly used a borrowed axe as a pretext to approach the woman.

"At around 2PM, the accused person went to the complainant's home looking for her husband, saying he wanted to borrow an axe," Gundani said. "The complainant told him her husband was away and handed over the axe."

Later that night, at around 8PM, Nyoni allegedly returned under the guise of returning the tool — but with sinister intentions.

"He knocked on the door and asked the complainant to open, saying he wanted to return the axe. When she refused to let him in, he pushed the door open and stormed into her bedroom hut," Gundani told the court.

Once inside, Nyoni reportedly proposed love and demanded sex. When the woman rejected his advances, he allegedly threatened to strike her with the axe if she screamed.

"He grabbed her, threw her on the bed, and raped her. Afterwards, he threatened to kill her if she told anyone," the prosecutor said.

After the alleged assault, Nyoni is said to have forced the traumatised woman to lie beside him, declaring they would spend the night together. However, when he eventually fell asleep, the complainant managed to escape and fled to a nearby homestead, where she sought help.

Police were alerted and arrested Nyoni shortly afterwards.

In his defence, Nyoni denied the allegations, claiming he never visited the woman's home and that she fabricated the story due to existing animosity between them.

The case continues.