shloboe boe
Tsenulo Moyo
IN an unexpected betrayal that shattered his trust and unleashed his fury, a 26-year-old man from Bulawayo was arrested for assaulting a commercial sex worker he had hired for the night after he allegedly caught her having sex with his uncle the following morning.
This came to light when Tongai Mpofu appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Polite Dube-Banda facing charges of robbery and assault. He was found guilty of assault only and was sentenced to pay a fine of US$100, with a default sentence of six months imprisonment.
While passing the sentence, Magistrate Dube-Banda noted that for an offence to be classified as robbery, there must be evidence of the use or threat of violence with the intention of taking someone’s property.
In this case, there was no evidence that violence was used to acquire the complainant’s property.
“It is quite unfortunate, but most men in our community would likely react similarly to the situation the complainant and the accused person found themselves in. The accused person was understandably upset after discovering the woman in bed with his uncle. The second state witness also confirmed during cross-examination that the accused person had told him he had an altercation with the complainant because she had slept with his uncle, and the complainant was now alleging that he had taken her phone. The accused person did not deny hitting the complainant. Therefore, the accused person is found guilty of assault,” charged the magistrate.
In his defence, Mpofu pleaded not guilty to robbery and told the court that the complainant, Getrude Pepukai, was his girlfriend. He explained that on the day in question, he had an altercation with her after he discovered her having sexual intercourse with his uncle.
Mpofu stated that when he confronted the complainant, she retorted in his face that she was a prostitute and had been in a relationship with his uncle. He admitted to slapping her with an open hand because he was angry but denied taking her Itel cellphone and US$50.
The court heard that on the previous day, Mpofu went to the complainant’s residence with two other men and took the complainant and two other girls for the night, and promised to pay them US$30 each.
However, the accused person allegedly failed to pay the complainant for the night she spent with him.
Furthermore, it was heard that the complainant went to another room the next morning to retrieve her phone, which was charging, and encountered Mpofu’s uncle there. His uncle allegedly requested the complainant’s sexual services, as the girl he had been with the previous night was on her menstrual period.
Pepukai reportedly agreed to his request “as she was in need of money”. The accused person then caught them in the act and struck the complainant on her face and body several times with open hands.
After assaulting the complainant, Mpofu is alleged to have taken her Itel cellphone and US$50 that was in her boots.
He then went outside to look for a weapon to assault her further. The value of the alleged stolen property was US$130, and none of it was recovered. The matter was reported to the police, leading to the arrest of Mpofu.
mbulelo smpofu
