A 32-year-old Harare tout, Marvellous Kandemiri, who last week allegedly undressed a woman at 4th Street Bus Terminus in the company of other touts, was yesterday denied bail when he appeared before provincial magistrate Milton Serima.
CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER
Kandemiri was arrested after a leaked video footage capturing the drama went viral on social media networks. In the alleged video, the woman was taunted and physically abused by several men with others pulling down her undergarments.
Kandemiri and his alleged accomplices, who are still at large, accused the woman of indecent dressing.
In his ruling, Serima said given the circumstances under which the offence was committed, one wonders if Kandemiri and his gang were sober. The magistrate remanded Kandeminiri in custody to January 12 saying evidence adduced from the video recording proved that the State had a strong case against him. Serima blasted Kandemiri for what he termed “relegating the complainant to a useless idol”.
According to the State, the incident occurred on December 12 when the woman arrived at 4th Street Rank from Kuwadzana on her way to Ruwa.
It is alleged, when Kandemiri saw her walking past the bus terminus, he invited her to where he was standing and when the complainant spurned his invitation, he shouted back and labelled her a prostitute.
Kandemiri allegedly later invited his colleagues to hurl insults at the woman, pushing and shoving her as she sought refuge at the stationary kombis at the rank.
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At some point the woman allegedly sought protection from another man, but Kandemiri and his colleagues surrounded them and pulled her away from the “Good Samaritan”.
As the commotion gathered momentum, Kandemiri and his colleagues allegedly pulled the woman’s dress up exposing her panties and body to the public. The court heard, the woman later managed to get into a commuter omnibus where she was charged $2 to be driven to safety.
Sharon Mashavira appeared for the State while Nathaniel Chigoro represented Kandemiri.
The matter has raised the ire of several women’s pressure groups some of whom gathered at the Harare Magistrates Court in solidarity with the victim waving placards.
Gender activists and Harare West MDC-T MP Jessie Majomeurged law enforcement agents to leave no stone unturned in their search for the other suspects.
“This must be a lesson to other hooligans that they must let people wear what they want. Everyone has a constitutional right to wear clothes of her own choice,” Majome said.
Zanu PF Harare provincial youth deputy secretary for information and publicity, Tendai Wenyika described the incident as barbaric.
