The Sunday News
Tinomuda Chakanyuka Sunday News Reporter
A 19-YEAR-OLD man from Mberengwa suspected of waylaying schoolchildren while wielding a razor blade and a knife before raping them, is languishing in remand prison almost three months after he was arrested.Timothy Banda, who is of no fixed abode, is facing two counts of rape as defined by Section 65 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9.23.
Banda appeared before Zvishavane magistrate Mr Story Rushambwa recently, for further remand.
Mr Rushambwa did not ask Banda to plead.
Zvishavane area prosecutor Mr Talent Tadenyika said the suspect would remain in custody until the regional court informs him of his trial date.
“Until then he will remain in custody and will continue appearing in our courts for routine remand. We are not sure when the trial will start,” said Mr Tadenyika.
Banda, who had been evading police since 2012 when he committed his crimes, was arrested in Zvishavane in August this year following a tip-off from members of the public.
The State’s case, as presented by Mr Ausi Saidi, is that on an unknown date in 2012, the accused met a 10-year-old girl at Vanguard compound in Mberengwa who was coming from school in the company of her friends.
Banda is alleged to have engaged the minor and asked her if she had his parcel from the school headmaster, to which the accused said “no”.
The court heard that the accused then produced a razor blade and ordered the girl’s friends to leave the area, before he dragged his victim to a nearby bush.
At the bush, Banda is said to have ordered her to take off her uniform, but she refused, leading to Banda tripping to the ground before raping her once.
Later that day, the girl got home and related her ordeal to her aunt who reported the case to the police.
A manhunt for Banda by police proved futile.
Later that year, Banda is alleged to have waylaid a nine-year-old grade one pupil, whom he raped after intimidating her with a knife and later paid her a dollar not to report the case.
Mr Saidi told the court that on 28 September in 2012 at around 7am, at Vanguard compound, the accused met the pupil who was going to school in the company of her friends.
Banda is alleged to have stopped the girls and pretended that he wanted to send the child with a parcel to her teacher.
He then ordered her friends to proceed to school and was left behind with the complainant, whom he force marched at knife point, to a nearby hill.
In the bush, Banda raped the minor once and gave her a dollar in an attempt to bribe her not to report the matter.
She, however, on getting to school, told her teacher what had happened and the matter was reported to the police.
Another manhunt for the accused was launched but he could not be immediately arrested.
Banda was only arrested last month when some members of the public identified him from the police wanted list and tipped off police.
