Gweru regional magistrate Christopher Maturure on Tuesday acquitted a 45-year-old Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operative who had been facing charges of rape.
Makopa Manyadze was accused of raping a 20-year-old woman, but he denied the allegations.
His lawyer, Innocent Hore, applied for discharge at the close of the State’s case.
In his ruling, Magistrate Maturure found in favour of the accused, saying the State had failed to establish a prima facie case.
According to the prosecution, the incident allegedly occurred on 23 June this year, when the complainant was alone at her home in Kopje, Gweru.
It was alleged that Manyadze, who had earlier instructed her to take a bath, arrived at her residence and ordered her to sit closer to him.
When she refused, he allegedly grabbed her by the waist and fondled her breasts.
The State further claimed that Manyadze threw her onto a bed and continued fondling her before undressing and raping her once.
After the alleged incident, the accused reportedly told the complainant to get dressed and open the gate for him to leave.
The matter was reported to the police by the complainant’s mother after the woman informed her twin sister in Bulawayo on the same day.
However, the magistrate ruled that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence to proceed to trial, resulting in the acquittal of Manyadze.
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