A lawyer and an employee of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Chipinge have been arrested for allegedly altering a statement made by a 13-year-old rape survivor. This was intended to lessen the severity of the charges against the accused.
Timothy Katsande (34), a public prosecutor at the Chipinge Magistrates Court, and Benjamin Basikiti (35), a lawyer with Mutendi, Mudisi and Shumba Legal Practitioners, were arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.
They now face charges of defeating the course of justice, under Section 184 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23).
The investigation was triggered by a report from the survivor’s father, leading to the detention of the two suspects.
In court, Principal Public Prosecutor Thembalami Dhliwayo detailed the case, saying that on December 28, 2024, the victim was allegedly raped by her uncle at her home.
The victim’s mother promptly reported the incident to the ZRP Chipinge Urban on December 29, under CR 134/12/24, identifying the uncle as the suspect.
The investigation was assigned to Constable Dzingirai, who arrested the alleged perpetrator on December 30, 2024, under charges of rape as defined in Section 65(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
The uncle, represented by Basikiti, appeared at the Chipinge Magistrates Court for an initial remand on December 31 and was subsequently remanded in custody until January 10.
On that date, Constable Dzingirai submitted a complete rape docket to the NPA for trial settings under CRB CHPR 125/24, with proceedings slated to begin on January 15.
The docket included the victim’s statement, detailing how her uncle forced her into sexual intercourse.
Additionally, the survivor’s impact statement indicated that she had indeed reported the rape, and witness statements corroborated her account.
The State outline also clearly indicated that the 13-year-old and her uncle were related as niece and uncle, respectively.
The outline also mentioned that the victim raised an alarm, but to no avail since she has a voice projection problem.
The case was then assigned to Katsande, who was responsible for its prosecution.
However, Katsande and Basikiti produced a statement of agreed facts that contradicted the evidence in the docket.
This statement erroneously claimed that the victim and her uncle were not related and that the sexual encounter was consensual.
Armed with this misleading statement, the uncle pleaded guilty to charges of contravening Section 70 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (having sexual intercourse with a minor).
He was subsequently sentenced to 36 months in jail, with 12 months suspended for five years, resulting in an effective sentence of 24 months.
More: The Manica Post
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