HIGH Court judge Justice Ester Muremba yesterday dismissed a fresh bail application filed by incarcerated RTG Independent End Time Message Church leader Robert Martin Gumbura saying there was little likelihood the man of the cloth would escape conviction on all alleged rape charges.
BY CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER
The judge said given Gumbura’s version that he had sexual intercourse with the complainants by consent, which they denied, chances were that he used his position to instill fear in them and eventually sexually attacked them.
Justice Muremba further said granting Gumbura bail would be tantamount to undermining bail rules since he was in custody facing several other rape charges reported by his church members.
“The applicant is a pastor and complainants are his church members and if he is released on bail their sense of peace and security will be undermined,” Justice Muremba said.
The judge further said if Gumbura was to be released on bail “public confidence in the judiciary system would also be undermined” as such it was proper to have his application dismissed.
Gumbura is in custody awaiting judgment at the Harare Magistrates Court where he was tried on eight counts of rape and one count of illegal possession of pornographic materials of some of his 11 wives.
Regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya last week deferred ruling on the matter to January 31 saying he had not been able to finalise the judgment because he was not feeling well.
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Gumbura has been in custody since November last year and his trial was concluded three weeks ago after an inspection of his 25-roomed mansion by the court during an inspection in loco.
Meanwhile, three of Gumbura’s 11 wives will not be able to hear the judgment in their husband’s alleged rape case on January 31 because their own trial over allegations of illegal possession of pornographic materials will be taking place at the same time.
Choice Neganye, Amadeus Mutakwa and Pamela Kandawire are being charged together with fellow church members, Rutendo Sekai Mandiya, Runyararo Musvovi, Veronica Mbanga, Tendai Kwatara and Moreblessing Takawira.
Their trial, which had been scheduled to continue yesterday, was postponed to Friday after prosecutor Michael Reza told the presiding magistrate Vakayi Douglas Chikwekwe that the defence counsel, Rekayi Maphosa, was unwell and therefore unable to attend court.
The eight women have denied the charges of contravening the Censorship and Entertainment Act levelled against them after they were allegedly found in possession of nude pictures of themselves and some pornographic DVDs.
In an unrelated matter, the bail application for incarcerated police Assistant Commissioner Gideon Baloyi, who was slapped with an effective nine-month imprisonment term for corruptly facilitating the release of Nevermind Kufakunesu who was facing a $21 000 fraud charge, was yesterday postponed to Friday.
Baloyi was charged for contravening paragraph 35 of the Schedule to the Police Act as read with Section 29 and 29(A) (1)(b) of the same law that makes it an offence for an officer to act in any manner likely to bring discredit to the police force.
However, Baloyi has since submitted in his affidavit filed at the High Court that he was being victimised for unearthing serious corruption by top police officers.
