Socialite disputes rape allegations

SOCIALITE Charles ‘Torro’ Guvamatanga has distanced himself from rape allegations levelled against him by a relative describing them as a fabrication.

The trial opened at the Harare magistrate’s court on Tuesday morning with his lawyers tendering his defence outline before regional magistrate Stanford Mambanje.

Torro told the court that he suspects his accuser who had shown some unusual ‘interest’ in him earlier when they were clubbing could have drugged him and subsequently raped him while he was asleep.

“He never raped complainant in the manner alleged or at all. In fact, he is the actual victim in this case because complainant committed an act of aggravated indecent assault upon him while he was in an involuntarily induced sleep and inebriation.

“Accused was later shocked to see complainant in his bedroom, half naked when he was woken up by some unusual painful feeling of discomfort, the weight he felt over his body and rubbing of his penis against something.

“He was shocked to see complainant in his bed sitting on top of him holding his penis with her right hand and trying to force his penis into her vagina. Accused noticed she was half naked with her top on and pantie on which she had pulled by the side as she tried to force accused’s penis into her vagina. Complainant had removed her trousers she had been wearing earlier on,” his lawyer submitted.

It is his argument that the allegations came after he declined the girl’s advances as she tried to save her face after he threatened intention to report her.

“The rape allegations by complainant are clearly false, an afterthought and a counter report after accused told complainant that he was to go and report her conduct to her sisters. Complainant also felt very embarrassed after accused condemned her conduct, what she had done to him and obviously found it convenient to counter accused’s report so that she could appear as the victim when in actual fact she probably raped accused. She was also angry that accused had shown no interest in her, declined her invitation to have sex, thus was too embarrassed,” his lawyer submitted.

The defence also raised questions on the girl’s testimony that she could not raise alarm or scream despite sleeping in a room five meters away from where her sisters were sleeping.

She said she was a virgin and was violated for about 15 minutes and could not raise alarm or utter a word to alert her sisters.

“Accused will demonstrate that complainant’s whole story is false and unbelievable. For example, why would she not scream when she allegedly saw that accused was about to rape her or even during the alleged rape or soon after since she knew her sisters were in the lounge just about 6m away.

“It is also curious why the tight-fitting clothing that the complainant was in did not show any signs of force and that when the complainant’s sisters inspected the alleged crime scene there was no evidence consistent with the allegations. These are poorly choreographed rape allegations by someone desperate to save face and embarrassed,” the lawyers argue.

They also produced videos aimed at showing the minor, who was 17, in a club, drunk and in tight fitting clothes despite her claims she was wearing baggy pants which made it easy for her alleged abuser to remove.