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Lindani Dube Hwange Court Correspondent
A RAPE convict yesterday sneaked out of the Hwange magistrates’ court before sentencing and disappeared into a bush leaving the gallery in shock.Professor Mpala, 36, an ex-kombi driver from Bulawayo dodged the unsuspecting prison officers and a manhunt that was launched yielded nothing, forcing regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga to issue a warrant of arrest for him.

Mpala took a quiet, calculated risk when Malunga adjourned proceedings for about 30 minutes after convicting him in order to prepare the sentence.

Mpala, who was in civilian attire, rose from the dock and managed to slide out of the building unnoticed as prison officers left the regional court around 3PM.

Dumb-founded prison officers tried searching the thick bush in the 10-metre radius around the court gates to no avail.

At around 4.46PM, Malunga quizzed prison officers about Mpala’s whereabouts, but they did not have any answers.

She blasted: “Did you not know that I convicted him? If he is convicted of a serious offence like rape or murder what is it you are supposed to do? A warrant of arrest is issued.”

A witness doing community service at the court said he spotted Mpala walking out of the court door and entering the bush.

“We were cleaning when the man in the black leather jacket passed us and left the gate into the bush,” said the witness who requested anonymity.

Mpala, who used to ply the Binga-Bulawayo route in 2012, had pleaded not guilty to the crime but was convicted of raping a mentally challenged 17-year-old Binga girl in his vehicle.

Prosecutors say on February 21, 2012 at about 5PM, the girl went to Govera business centre to buy maize meal.

After she emerged from a shop, it started raining heavily and Mpala offered her shelter in his Streetliner kombi, which had two people inside.

Prosecuting, Bheki Tshabalala said Mpala dismissed the other occupants to go and buy meat from  the butchery before he “switched off the lights and pulled her towards the back seat and grabbed her by the neck”.

He said Mpala closed the girl’s mouth with his hand and “removed her clothing and raped her as she screamed”.

Tshabalala said after the act, Mpala ordered the girl to get out and threatened her with unspecified action if she told anyone about his assault on her. He said between April 13-16, that year the girl fell sick  and carried out pregnancy tests which came out positive.

She told her mother of the rape and a report was made to the police.

In his defence, Mpala said the girl was his girlfriend and claimed they had an affair for a month before having sex.

“I invited her into the kombi where we talked and had consensual intercourse. She was my girlfriend of one month before we had a sexual encounter,” he said.

It emerged during proceedings that the victim was mentally challenged after she was examined by a psychiatrist.

“Intercourse with a mentally challenged person according to the law is automatically viewed as rape,” said Malunga.

“The girl was examined by a psychiatrist and it was established that she is moderately mentally challenged during the initial trial”.

Tonderai Mukuku of Marondedze, Mukuku and partners represented Mpala.