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Codelia Mondela, Court Reporter
A PLUMTREE man proposed love to his mentally unstable neighbour and allegedly raped her on four separate occasions when she turned down his proposal.

The man (60) allegedly raped the woman (21) until she fled from home.

He would allegedly rape the woman at her homestead or waylay her on her way to the stream.
The man pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Crispen Mberewere who remanded the matter to May 28 for trial.

Prosecuting, Mr Simbarashe Manyiwa alleged that the man raped the woman between January and August last year.

He said the man proposed love to the woman but was turned down and after that he allegedly raped her.

“The man went to the woman’s place and found her asleep, sneaked into her blankets and raped her. He threatened to kill her if she revealed the matter to anyone,” he said.

“On another day, the man followed the woman to the well, made her lie on the ground and raped her for the second time. The woman told her aunt what had happened and she phoned the man’s mother so that they could discuss the matter.

“The third time, the man forcibly took the woman to a hill, raped her and threatened her with death should she report the matter to anyone.”

The court heard that the man allegedly raped the woman again at her homestead after he found her alone. Upon realising that her relatives were not making efforts to assist her, the woman fled from home.

Mr Manyiwa said it was only after the complainant had fled home to stay with a relative that the abuse was reported to the police leading to the accused’s arrest. — @MondelaC