A Bulawayo tout appeared in court last week for allegedly raping and robbing a woman of her cellphone and 100 rand in broad daylight after he reportedly waylaid her at West Park Cemetery while she was on her way to Mpilo Central Hospital.
Thabani Mbondo Nkomo denied the charge when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Fadzai Mthombeni last Friday.
He was remanded in custody to tomorrow for continuation of trial. In his defence, Nkomo (20) said he was out of Bulawayo on November 25 last year, the day the woman claimed she was raped.
“I had gone there on November 20 and only came back on December 30. I had gone there on duty, I am a conductor and we were plying the Gweru — Harare route,” said Nkomo.
However, the woman was adamant that Nkomo was the one who raped and robbed her on the day.
“In July this year, I was with my husband at 747 Sports Bar. It was around 10pm and I saw and identified the accused who passed by twice. I looked for him later but he was nowhere to be seen,” she said.
“When I got home I told my husband that I had seen the ‘guy’ who raped me. He (husband) was very upset that I did not tell him when the offence was committed. He (Nkomo) is the one who raped me, I even told the police that I can identify the person who raped me if I came across him.”
Allegations are that on the day in question, the woman passed through West Park Cemetery on her way to the hospital. It is alleged Nkomo emerged from the graveyard and confronted her.
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He allegedly produced a knife and ordered her not to make any noise or risk being killed. Out of fear, the woman complied and Nkomo allegedly force marched her to a bushy area between West Park and Lady Stanley Cemeteries, where he robbed and later raped her before fleeing from the scene.
