Chipangano gang leader Jim Kunaka allegedly rapes Harare woman
By Lance Guma
The leader of a notorious gang, fiercely loyal to President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party, allegedly raped a Harare woman on Thursday, before bluntly telling her “even if you report me to the police I will not be arrested.”
Chipangano leader Jim Kunaka is alleged to have raped the woman (name supplied) at his offices at Carter House. The building was illegally seized by his gang from the City of Harare and since then has been turned it into a ‘mafia centre’ of sorts.
The woman is too frightened to speak to the media but her best friend spoke to Nehanda Radio and told us Kunaka raped her without using any protection and boasted afterwards;
“Chero ukandirepotera handisungwe cause tisu varidzi venyika- even if you report me to the police, I will not be arrested because we are the owners of this country.”
Two weeks ago Kunaka was outside his offices standing next to his BMW X5 when the woman, a clothing vendor, sold two t-shirts to him at US$15 each. On Thursday she went into his office to collect the money owed to her.
It was in the office that Kunaka then raped her. He also told her afterwards “ndagara ndichingokuda. I bought those t-shirts kuti ndikuswededze mudhuze. Kana ukaramba ndokuitisa rough ne Chipangano.”
In April this year Kunaka was summoned to court after beating up one of his three wives at Mbare Musika terminus in full view of travelling commuters.
Kunaka who wants to be a Zanu PF MP in Mbare did not even bother to show up at the Harare Civil Court after wife Loveness Sithole had him arraigned while she sought a protection order.
In her testimony she said Kunaka was in the habit of bashing her each time he visits. Loveness revealed that the gang leader visits her once or twice per month at her place of residence in Waterfalls.
“I am one of his three wives but I want him to be barred from visiting my place. He is in the habit of bashing me each time he comes to my place. At one point in time he thrashed me at Mbare Musika rank after I have approached him in bid to talk to him over our affair,” she said.
Loveness also told the court that she had tried to divorce Kunaka but he kept on forcing himself on her. Asked by magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti whether she had given him a token of divorce or not Loveness said:
“I have once tried to engage his relatives but nothing materialised. I am yet to give him a token of divorce. I will be more comfortable if he stays away from my place or from me.”
Loveness also told the court that Kunaka had since dumped his other wives to cohabit with his mistress.
Strangely the magistrate failed to bar Kunaka from Loveness’s home claiming they were still husband and wife. But the court, in Kunaka’s absence ordered him to refrain from threatening her and being violent towards her.
Kunaka leads the Chipangano gang, a shadowy group of violent militia youths who are fiercely loyal to Zanu PF and behind what many have described as the “progressive militarisation and zanunisation of public facilities”.
Over the years the youths hid under the Zanu PF ‘empowerment’ agenda to ‘access resources illegally’ and raked in over US$30,000 per day by charging ‘ranking fees’ at bus terminuses in central Harare and other parts of the city.
They also took over several council markets like Siyaso and Mupedzanhamo, charging vendors extortionate amounts in fees.
Chipangano also took over a council building, Carter House, in Mbare, and the council was threatened into silence over the matter. The building was even turned into a terror base for the group.
Underlying their impunity, in 2011, the youths rampaged through Town House, in full view of police officers, and beat up council employees. The same mob invaded Parliament, beating up MP’s and journalists, but no arrests were made.
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