Bulawayo man appears in court over alleged maize field rape

A 27-year-old Bulawayo man has appeared in court facing rape charges after he allegedly attacked a woman and dragged her into a maize field before sexually assaulting her.

Marvelous Tshuma (27), of Mbundane suburb, appeared before Western Commonage regional magistrate Mr Pasipanodya Maturure on Thursday charged with rape.

He was granted US$200 bail and ordered to continue residing at the address he provided to the court.

As part of his bail conditions, Tshuma was instructed not to interfere with State witnesses and to report to Nkulumane Police Station every Friday until the matter is finalised. He was remanded to March 12 pending DNA results.

Prosecutor Ms Christina Manyika told the court that the complainant and the accused are not related.

The State alleges that on February 23 at around 8.45pm, the complainant was walking along a footpath on her way to nearby shops when Tshuma allegedly approached her from behind.

The court heard that he allegedly grabbed her and dragged her into a nearby maize field, where he is accused of sexually assaulting her without her consent.

After the incident, the accused allegedly fled from the scene. The complainant is said to have gone to the shops, where she reported the matter to a patron at a sports bar.

Shortly afterwards, the accused allegedly went to the same shops and was positively identified by the complainant, leading to his arrest by members of the public.

The complainant was later referred to hospital for medical examination.

The matter is still before the courts, and Tshuma is presumed innocent until proven guilty.