RMG Independent End Time Message leader Robert Martin Gumbura had his application for discharge dismissed at the close of the State case in yet another fresh rape charge.
SENIOR COURT REPORTER
Regional magistrate Fadzai Mthombeni yesterday ruled that Gumbura had a case to answer and that the State had proved a prima facie case against him.
Gumbura, who is already serving an effective 40-year jail term for raping his female congregants, is now expected to defend himself on July 23.
The deposed cleric is jointly charged with his secretary Tendai Ganyani. Through their lawyers Advocate Thembinkosi Magwaliba and Rekai Maposa, the suspects had applied for acquittal arguing they had no case to answer.
In his application Gumbura argued that his sexual encounter with the complainant, a 28-year-old woman, was consensual.
Maposa claimed that the witness’s testimony was fraught with inconsistencies.
However, prosecutor Kudzai Chigwedere argued that Gumbura’s application for discharge lacked merit. Allegations against Gumbura are that he took advantage of the underprivileged girl and raped her with the help of Ganyani.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
It is alleged that Ganyani ordered the woman to go into Gumbura’s office before she locked the door from outside and only came to open it after Gumbura had sexually abused her.
