Zim lawyer jailed in UK

A ZIMBABWEAN lawyer, Wilfred Marodza (28) has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in the United Kingdom after he kidnapped and repeatedly raped a woman who was out celebrating her graduation before attempting to rape a partially visually impaired woman an hour later.

The incidents occurred after the lawyer had spent a night out celebrating his birthday on 19 July last year.

Marodza pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, one count of kidnap and another of committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence when he appeared at the London Inner Crown Court recently.

The court heard that after one of the attacks, Marodza reportedly dropped a bag containing his particulars and papers from cases that he had been working on. That, alongside CCTV footage, led to his arrest.

The court heard that Marodza stalked his first victim (21) in the wee hours of the morning in the streets of Borough, London, as she walked home from a pub where she had been celebrating her graduation.

The lawyer violently dragged her to a park where he forced her to strip before raping her three times. According to court records, he had told her, “I’m going to have to bury you now,” after raping her for the third. The victim then managed to break free from Marodza before fleeing while he pursued her through the streets. She eventually sought refuge in a passing taxi.

IN a tear-jerking incident, a three-yearold boy from Bulawayo’s Nkulumane suburb, who was left in the care of a nursery school teacher, was allegedly on several times sodomised by a male suspect believed to be linked to the teacher.

The matter was reported the police, who said they are conducting investigations.

“We did receive a report of such nature and have questioned people that were in contact with the child during that period,” said deputy police spokesperson for Bulawayo province, Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele.

According to the boy’s mother (name supplied), he was sodomised by a suspect the boy referred to as “khulu”.

“He goes to a pre-school in Nkulumane. When schools closed during the festive season, I made arrangements with his teacher to care for him during the day as I was at work and had no maid. We live in the same neighbourhood and I thought since he was used to her he would be comfortable being left in her care,” said the mother.

She said, however, after a few days her son’s attitude began to change, as he would use vulgar language and was aggressive to the point of beating other children or adults.

“He started using abusive language and was aggressive physically. Days went by and I thought of enquiring with the teacher but I let it slide as I just assumed he had picked up those characteristics from other children. Before Christmas my son started saying things like ukhulu ung’bhalile which is a saying he uses when he says he has been injected. And the term khulu is referenced to men.

“I then asked him where exactly he had been injected but he never said,” she said.

She said she took a day off a few days after her son had told her that but did not tell the teacher that she would not

to still

Marodza was on the prowl again an hour later, pretending to befriend a partially visually impaired woman (25) that he had targeted as his next victim. After also trying to drag her to the park, she managed to break free after she screamed, forcing him to flee.

Afterwards, police discovered the bag with his personal and professional details near the scene of his first attack. Before the two incidents, Marodza had been ejected from the N1 bar in London Bridge after he was deemed to be drunk, disorderly and behaving inappropriately towards women.

“He was described by door staff as having an attitude, harassing and aggravating people”, prosecutor Mr Edward Lucas who was quoted in the British media, also added that Marodza was spotted grabbing the bottom of a woman who refused to give him her phone number.

“Security staff described him as arguing, boasting to them about how much he had earned in the last week.”

Marodza, a Zimbabwean from Eastbourne in East Sussex, graduated from Kent University with a law degree in 2012 but struggled for five years to find employment, working in a bar to make ends meet.

He told a psychologist he had an unhappy childhood separated from his mother from the ages of four to 11, and he had pursued a career in law that he disliked in order to please her.

In a letter to the court Marodza apologised and accepted he had caused “unimaginable horror, pain and sorrow to the victims, their families and friends”. He said he is “bitterly sorry” for the attacks and added: “My actions were evil”.

Boy (3) sodomised

if I would be dropping my son off. In the morning when I was bathing my son he was so aggressive and screamed when I tried to wash his private parts,” said the boy’s mother.

She said she became worried about her son, as he went for three days without defecating.

“On those days in question I took him with me to town and went to the bank, while there he said he wanted to use the toilet but screamed when he sat on the toilet seat. I was worried and just thought he was constipated. After my day off I left him with the teacher and hinted that he may be constipated. When I collected him after work and on our way home I noticed he kept rubbing and scratching his backside,” she said.

She said that is when her son revealed her worst fears.

“He was in tears and when I checked on him it was evident that he had been violated. That evening I called a friend of mine to ferry me to Luveve Clinic, where the doctor confirmed that he had been sodomised. We were then referred to Mpilo Central Hospital for a second opinion and likewise it was the same outcome,” she said.

She said she then reported the matter to the police and the boy was taken for counselling, where he narrated the same story.

“What bothers me is the fact that police are dragging their feet in all this,” the boy’s mother said.

The teacher could not be reached for comment. However, her sister accused the boy’s mother of trying to tarnish their family’s image.

“The child was abused elsewhere and not at my sister’s place. On some days she wouldn’t bring the child. She stays with some males and is just trying to frame us. There is also another male child there. She knows who abused the child and maybe she is just ashamed of revealing it. She has been on the war path and has been accusing my family of protecting my sister. At one time she even went to confront my mother demanding that she reveals what happened to her son. The case is under investigation and we really can’t

ACROSS

1 Small restaurant (6) 7 In this place (4) 8 Bonus (8)

10 Rubs out (6)

11 Sign (6)

14 Free (3)

16 Smallest amount (5) 17 Consumes (4) 19 Short metal bolt (5) 21 Exists (5) 22 Storehouse (5) 23 Cook by simmering

(4)

26 Primp (5)

28 Golf peg (3)

29 Makes corrections (6) 30 Antenna (6) 31 Complain bitterly (4) 32 Estranged (8) 33 Pulled (6)

DOWN

1 Essay (6)

3 Poems (4)

4 Figures of speech (7) 5 Reddish dye (5) 6 Grown-up (5)

8 Male deer (4) 9 Colour (3)

12 Obtain (3)

13 Apart (5)

15 Piece of turf (5) 18 Panic (5)

19 Tear (3)

20 Check (3)

21 Loaning (7)

22 Study (3) 23 Observing (6) 24 Inform (4)

25 Fought (6) 26 Foot-lever (5) 27 Weird (5) 28 Beverage (3) 30 Worry (4)

ACROSS

1 Has a job to be himself? (6)

7 Jogging with one of the higher members (8) 8 Walk in floppy fashion (4)

10 Handy covers (6)

11 Otto’s upset about mum producing fruits (6) 14 His patients tell him nothing (3)

16 Would match the tenth suit him? (5)

17 Key points in sheep farming! (4)

19 The Spaniard puts a broken nose right (5) 21 Hooded bird? (5)

22 Attire in which to rise to an occasion? (3-2) 23 Sounds of hounds at seaside (4)

26 New parts, possibly to leather (5)

28 But it’s not too heavy for high speed (3) 29 Stopped a man going on to a new case (6) 30 The name of Malvern, once? (6)

31 Area of current corps (4)

32 Waste food? (8)

33 Are they high in drawing power? (6)

DOWN

1 Fiddle in the west corner (6)

2 Jack’s cutters, possibly (6)

3 Travellers helping to back up Jasper (4) 4 Island king? (7)

5 Craig makes smoke (5)

6 White house (5)

8 Be very keen on appearing in a pull-over (4) 9 Satisfied a requirement of something (3) 12 Figure a bit warmth will have a bad effect (3) 13 It’s up to devious spy to appear drunk (5) 15 Half dead, but it’s a start (5)

18 Very pale when we get a blow to the heart (5) 19 So a quarter pint is commonly drunk (3)

20 A drink in the air, possibly? (3)

21 Has gained what the company consumes (7) 22 Possibly laughing talks? (3)

23 Get a loan from George? (6)

24 Swan-necked girl (4)

25 Burns part of a housing estate (6)

26 Mock the food one eats? (5)

27 Airy entertainment (5)

28 A diminutive sleuth (3)

30 Very large vats, possibly (4)