BINGA — A Bulawayo-based commuter omnibus driver charged for allegedly dragging a 17-year-old Govera Compound girl into his commuter omnibus and raping her once was granted $100 bail after the court noted he was not likely to skip bail.
Professor Mpala (34) of Cowdray Park pleaded not guilty to rape charges when he appeared before Binga resident magistrate Stephen Ndlovu on Friday.
In denying the charges, Mpala told the court he never raped the girl, but they had agreed to be intimate on the day.
He successfully applied for bail bail through his lawyer Tonderai Mukuku of Mukuku & Partners.
The magistrate remanded him out of custody to June 5 on $100 bail with normal bail conditions attached. In granting Mpala bail, the magistrate said there was no evidence that he was likely to skip bail since he did not escape after the offence was discovered and even after he was arrested.
He also said the seriousness of the offence could not be grounds of denying him bail because it was yet to be proved if he committed the crime.
David Never Shiku for the State told the court that on February 21, Mpala met the 17-year-old girl at Govera business centre in Binga.
He allegedly lured her into the commuter omnibus he was driving. While they were inside the vehicle, Mpala allegedly grabbed her and gagged her mouth by his hand before allegedly raping her once.
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The matter came to light when the girl fell ill and her parents discovered she was pregnant.
The juvenile told her parents that Mpala raped her.
