Fungai Lupande: Court Reporter
Convicted rapist Simbarashe Gibson’s application for refusal of remand was last Friday dismissed and he was remanded in custody on allegations of forcing his relative to suck his manhood at gunpoint.The First Class Bus Company owner was advised to apply for bail at the High Court and the matter was remanded to November 16. Prosecutor Mr Michael Reza said he was preferring another charge of kidnapping. The complainant in the matter, a 24-year-old woman, who is Gibson’s cousin, narrated what transpired on the day. She was employed at the bus company as a ticket person.
She said: “The accused is my cousin and I worked for him. On October 9 this year, he called me to his office at the garage and I complied.
“I arrived at around 8pm and he asked me to come upstairs. He asked me to sit on the sofa and he drew a silver grey pistol and instructed me to take off all my clothes. “I refused. I was shocked and started crying. I asked him what he wanted to do and he told me to keep quiet or he would shoot me. “He held the gun to my chest and ordered me to suck his manhood or he would shoot me at the count of three.”
She added that out of fear she complied and started vomiting.
“He told me that vomiting was a sign that I was enjoying. He ejaculated on my face and ordered me to swallow every drop of his semen,” she said. “He said if I was to report him to the police, he had ways to look for me. He said he would report that I stole money from him, make me disappear or kill me. “He drove me to an unknown house where I was detained from that day until October 28. I managed to escape and reported the matter to the police.”
Harare magistrate Mr Vakayi Chikwekwe said he was convinced that the woman was the complainant in the matter.
Mr Reza told the court that he was awaiting confirmation that Gibson filed an appeal at the Constitutional Court against a High Court ruling which dismissed an earlier appeal against the seven-year sentence for a 2011 rape conviction
Gibson (61) is facing aggravated indecent assault charges. His lawyer, Mr Tawanda Tandi, applied for refusal of remand on the basis that there was no warned and cautioned statement or the name of the complainant on the request for remand form. He added that his client was not advised of the charge.