Missing man dead in river Rapist teacher’s bail bid flops
A 50-YEAR-OLD man from Beitbridge who went missing for four days was found floating in a nearby river in a village.
Henson Tshaka of Nare Village under chief Sitaudze was reported missing by his relative Mr Micha Zulu whom he lived with.
Mr Zulu and other villagers embarked on a search, only to discover his body last Saturday, four days later.
Matabeleland South acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nkosilathi Sibanda confirmed the incident. He said investigations were underway. “We received a report on the drowning of a 50-year-old man who reportedly went missing and was found floating in a river in a neighbouring village.
“His relative discovered early in the morning that he was not in his bedroom. He notified other villagers and together they started searching for him.
“They did not find him until after four days. They found his body floating in a river near Maplanka village,” said Asst Insp Sibanda.
He warned members of the public to be cautious when crossing rivers and not to attempt to cross flooded rivers.
“Due to the large amounts of rainfall that were received this year, we are warning members of the public not to underestimate water levels in water bodies as this has resulted in drowning incidents.
“Parents should always monitor their children and warn them not to play or do activities near water bodies,” said Asst Insp Sibanda.— @winnie_masara THE High Court has dismissed an application for bail pending appeal by a Victoria Falls teacher serving a 10 year-jail term for sneaking into his tenant’s 15-yearold epileptic daughter’s bedroom and raping her while she was unconscious.
A drunken Dennis Mazarira (41) fell asleep on top of the girl after the sex attack. The girl had fallen unconscious after a seizure.
Mazarira was found naked inside the complainant’s bedroom after the girl managed to escape and locked the door from outside before alerting neighbours.
The teacher was last year convicted of rape by Hwange regional magistrate Ms Dambudzo Malunga and sentenced to 10 years in jail of which two years were conditionally suspended for five years.
Mazarira, through his lawyers Dube and Company, appealed to the Bulawayo High Court citing the State as the respondent.
In his grounds of appeal, Mazarira said there were good prospects of success on appeal.
He argued that the lower court erred by disregarding inconsistencies in the testimony of the complainant.
Mazarira said the magistrate overlooked the fact that the complainant did not report to anyone that she had been raped since her aunt was very drunk.
In his ruling, Justice Maxwell Takuva said the appeal had no prospects of success.
He said the criticism that the complainant’s testimony was riddled with inconsistencies lacked merit.
“The complainant remained consistent in respect of what the intruder did to her and how she discovered that someone had mounted her. The evidence clearly established legal penetration at the very least, and there was no room for any doubt as regards the degree of penetration required to sustain a conviction for rape,” said the judge.
Justice Takuva said if granted bail there was no guarantee that Mazarira would not abscond.
“Logically, bail will more readily be refused where the sentence imposed is a long term of imprisonment.
“In the present case, the applicant was sentenced to an effective eight years and the likelihood of him considering it worthwhile to abscond rather than serve his sentence is real. Accordingly, the application is dismissed,” ruled the judge. —@mashnets.