A BEITBRIDGE woman whose spleen was removed following a grave assault in July sobbed uncontrollably after her suspected basher was granted bail on Saturday last week.
Nyarai Shoriwa, who was in the United Bulawayo Hospital intensive care unit for three weeks, was left shocked after the incident.
She stormed out of court to cry after provincial magistrate Mbonisi Kaweni freed Rayson Tsvangirai Rushwaya, an alleged repeat offender.
It took Rushwaya’s lawyer Jabulani Mberesi to counsel Shoriwa who was threatening to take her own life.
“I will take my life because he will kill me. He should have not been given bail. He will kill me,” she said in between sobs with tears streaming down her pale face.
Shoriwa asked what happened to all the evidence that she gave police about the threats Rushwaya made to her after learning that he was being looked for.
In court, Kaweni told the State that it failed to give sound reasons to deny Rushwaya bail. “It will not be fair to use evidence from complainant's court default inquiry to deny the accused bail,” Kaweni said.
Rushwaya was arrested on charges of contravening the Domestic Violence Act after allegedly assaulting Shoriwa and left her for dead in Dulivhadzimu Township on July 14 this year.
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Shoriwa was resuscitated in Bulawayo where she was admitted for three weeks during which her punctured spleen was removed.
Meanwhile, Mberesi said Rushwaya was a good candidate for bail because after he assaulted Shoriwa for the first time, they kissed and made up.
In relation to the new case, he opted to move out of the house to allow the case to be finalised and offered US$30 bail with a promise not to interfere with Shoriwa.
Kaweni pegged the bail at US$100 before holding a court default inquiry for Shoriwa who said she failed to come to court because Rushwaya kept her captive.
Rushwaya made headlines in 2016 after he impregnated eight schoolgirls below 18, but he escaped because the age of consent then was 12.
He was, however, jailed for two years after his conviction on unlawful detention of a child under 18 when two parents of the girls reported their children missing.
His case then even attracted Vice-President Kembo Mohadi’s attention when he was Member of Parliament for Beitbridge and a Cabinet minister.
Tawanda Chigavazira prosecuted.
