'Mini-skirt' attack, 2nd suspect nabbed

POLICE have arrested another tout on allegations of stripping a 28-year-old woman at the Fourth Street commuter omnibus terminus in Harare last month.

This brings to two the number of touts who have so far been arrested in connection with the incident.

National police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi yesterday confirmed the arrest of Blessing Chinokudza, alias "Soja", 31.

"The Zimbabwe Republic Police has arrested one of the touts implicated in the stripping and molesting of a woman at Harare's Fourth Street commuter rank on December 12, 2014," he said.

Chinokudza was arrested yesterday.

His accomplice, Marvellous Kandemiri, 32, is facing indecent assault charges and was last week denied bail and remanded to January 12. Prosecutor Sharon Mashavira opposed bail saying granting the tout freedom would not send the right message to would-be offenders.

Kandemiri and Chinokudza committed the offence on December 12 at Fourth Street when he allegedly harassed the woman after she had refused to comply with his orders. The woman was on her way from Kuwadzana to Ruwa and on reaching the Fourth Street commuter omnibus rank, Kandemiri summoned the woman but she refused.

He called her a prostitute and invited his friends to harass her. The touts went on to strip the woman.

When a Good Samaritan tried to assist the woman, he was threatened by the touts. The woman only managed to escape after paying a commuter omnibus crew $2.