HARARE - Zanu PF Bikita West legislator Munyaradzi Kereke, who is being accused of sexually molesting his wife’s two nieces, will receive judgment on the case on July 11, the presiding magistrate said yesterday.
Kereke was standing trial for rape and indecent assault before Harare regional magistrate Noel Mupeiwa.
Private prosecutor Charles Warara is expected to surrender closing submissions on June 22 before Kereke’s lawyer Erum Mutandiro tenders his on July 1.
Both parties will appear in court on July 4 to proffer the submissions orally in time for the judgment day.
Throughout the trial, Warara accused Kereke of having fought “tooth and nail to have the case swept under the carpet since 2010.”
“I put it to you that you sought to diffuse the case from the start.
“Soon after realising that you had raped the complainant, you summoned Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s director of Financial Intelligence Unit Mirirai Chiremba to meet you so that you could engage him on how you were going to backdate the return of your gun (allegedly used in the rape),” Warara had said.
“…you then proceeded to your house and found one of the complainants and fabricated a ground that she had asked for money from you.
“You then went on to look for politicians to bring into this case amongst them David Butau, Webster Shamu, chiefs and former vice president Joice Mujuru.
“After all this, you had already planned to also connect (former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor) Gideon Gono and when you left RBZ you stole documents that you brought to this case.
“…at last you had your in-laws, wives and lawyers to fight prosecution. All this shows that you were lying before the court.”
During his defence, Kereke tendered copies of his passport indicating that he had travelled to the United States of America at the time that one of the complainants said he had sexually molested her.
However, Warara noted that Kereke had only furnished the court with copies stamped on his alleged departure but did not have an American stamp.
“I want to see the stamp which shows you left USA in June.
“What we want is not your word of mouth, we want the stamp showing your exit from USA,” demanded Warara.
“You only gave the court copies of stamps that were all put on the Zimbabwean side.
“If you knew that evidence was necessary to show the pattern of your travel, why didn’t you mention that to the court?”
His witnesses were accused of being coached as they could only recall events relating to the period that the minors alleged abuse but failed to recollect any other relevant details.