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Richard Muponde, Gwanda Correspondent
A 19-year-old man who was facing allegations of raping a Zanu-PF Matabeleland South Central Committee member on her way from a beer drink at midnight, has been acquitted.

Dylan Ndlovu of Maphisa pleaded not guilty to rape when he appeared before Gwanda regional magistrate Mr Mark Dzira and the matter went for full trial.

In his defence, Ndlovu said he did not commit the offence. “I was already asleep by the time the offence was allegedly committed. Also the clothes they say I was wearing on that day are not the ones I was wearing. They are wrongfully accusing me,” said Ndlovu.

At the close of the State case Mr Dzira acquitted and discharged Ndlovu. “Evidence before the court show that the witnesses failed to identify the accused as the person who committed the offence. The evidence which they also gave was full of inconsistencies. The accused is here acquitted and discharged,” ruled Mr Dzira.

Allegations against him were that on 11 November last year, the female politician in the company of three of her friends and an aide were coming from a night spot around 12AM.

When they arrived at a football pitch they started singing traditional songs leading to two of her colleagues getting into a trance.

She instructed her aide to rush home and call her husband so that he could help her.

When the aide left, it was alleged, Ndlovu arrived armed with a knife and grabbed her by the neck. He is alleged to have raped her once before he was caught red-handed by the returning team and he fled into darkness with his pants down.

A report was made to the police and investigations led to his arrest. A lawyer from Mathonsi Law Chambers Legal Practitioners represented Ndlovu while Mr Mncedisi Dube represented the State.

— @richardmuponde