Rapist nabbed in voting queue

A NYAZURA man —who was a fugitive from justice after he allegedly robbed and raped a local woman in a thicket along the route to her home — met more than what he had bargained when the victim spotted him in a voting queue and caused his arrest.

The suspect Blessing Munengani (28), of Plot 7, Tiny Farm, Nyazura was on police wanted list since July 5, 2018 when he allegedly robbed the Nyazura woman a purse containing an undisclosed amount of money and a cellphone before dragging her into a thicket where he raped her.

This happened around 6pm, in-between Nyazura and West Valley Farm.

The complainant made a report at Nyazura Police Station that evening and indicated that she can identify the suspect if she meets him.

Manicaland police spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed Munengani’s arrest on Monday at Folkington Primary School, where he had gone to vote.

“On July 5, 2018, the victim was going home from work when she met the suspect in a bush between Nyazura and West Valley Farm. The accused robbed the woman of her purse and a cellphone before dragging her into a nearby thicket where he raped her once and sprinted from the scene afterwards.

“The victim reported the matter to police on the same evening, and indicated that she can identify the suspect if she meets him. On July 30, the complainant was in the voting queue at Folkington Farm when she spotted the suspect in an adjacent male voting queue and alerted police,” said Insp Kakohwa.

He said Munengiwa was arrested 300m from the polling station.

“When alarm was raised, police did not pounce immediately, but allowed him to cast his ballot under their watchful eyes and arrested him 300m away from the polling station. He is currently in custody and assisting police with further investigations,” said Insp Kakohwa.

Munengani briefly appeared at Rusape Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday and was remanded in custody.