A 23-year-old Highfield man has been arrested and charged with six counts of rape after he allegedly dragged a 29-year-old woman to Mukuvisi River banks and sexually molested her repeatedly throughout the night.
Tinashe Zenda allegedly took the woman to the river bank, stripped her naked and went on to rape her for over eight hours. The woman was exposed to freezing temperatures and mosquito bites during the ordeal at the river by the alleged rapist who himself was under the influence of the illicit ZED alcoholic drink.
Regional magistrate Sandra Mupindu heard that on March 21 this year at around 8pm, the woman alighted from a commuter omnibus at Lusaka terminus in Highfield and headed home when Zenda followed her.
When she got to a dark spot, Zenda allegedly grabbed her from behind and threatened to stab her with an Okapi knife if she raised alarm. Zenda denies the charge.
Prosecutor Michael Reza told the court that Zenda dragged the woman into a maize field and later led her into a sugarcane field at Mukuvisi River banks where he forcibly undressed her.
Before raping the woman, Zenda is said to have asked her if she had ever contracted a sexually transmitted disease or if she was HIV positive. The woman told him she had neither.
Zenda then allegedly raped the woman twice and when she told him she was hungry, he taunted her telling her he was her supper for the night. The woman reported the matter to police the following morning, leading to Zendas arrest.
