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Court sets Kereke D-day

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Bikita West MP Munyaradzi Kereke’s rape trial came to an end yesterday and the legislator is expected to know his fate on July 11 when regional magistrate Noel Mupeiwa delivers judgment.

Bikita West MP Munyaradzi Kereke’s rape trial came to an end yesterday and the legislator is expected to know his fate on July 11 when regional magistrate Noel Mupeiwa delivers judgment.

BY MARY TARUVINGA

The Zanu PF legislator is accused of raping his 10-year-old niece at gun point in 2010 as well as fondling and kissing his other 15-year-old niece.

The legislator’s trial only started this year with him denying both charges accusing his former boss, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe ex-governor Gideon Gono, of fabricating cases against him after he exposed his multi-million corruption deals at the central bank.

Private prosecutor Charles Warara yesterday told the court he would tender his closing submissions on June 22 and the defence would submit the same on July 1.

Both parties will make their oral submissions in support of the written ones on July 4, while judgment will be delivered a week later.

Before the judgment day was pronounced, Warara made an application to have the investigating officer (IO) in the matter, Chief Inspector Mbiringa, to come and testify, arguing that there were issues defence witnesses did not clarify.

He said he wanted Mbiringa to clarify why Kereke was never arrested, among other things, but Mupeiwa dismissed the application, saying he believed the police had played its part.

The magistrate said the fact that the police did not put Kereke on remand showed they knew he would not abscond.

Kereke’s trial started in January this year and both girls narrated their emotional tortures following the alleged rape and indecent assault incidents.

The girl, who was allegedly raped at gun point, told the court she decided to tell her aunt after she had heard an advertisement on radio encouraging rape victims not to be ashamed to report any form of abuse.

Following the disclosure of the alleged rape and indecent assault, the juveniles’ guardian, Francis Maramwidze, told the court Kereke approached him on several occasions in a bid to have charges dropped.

But Kereke maintained Gono and the victims’ guardian Maramwidze sent emissaries to his wife’s parents begging them to persuade their daughter to testify against him.

He implicated former minister Webster Shamu, saying he told him he knew who crafted the rape allegations against him.

Kereke went on to say the ex-minister even extorted money from him so that he would disclose his enemy.