New twist to Windmill CEO rape case
By Tendai Rupapa
Windmill (Pvt) Ltd chief executive officer George Rundogo, who is accused of raping and impregnating his relative’s 15-year-old daughter and giving her $900 to buy her silence, wants the State to provide a DNA sample from the foetus for the trial.
The rape allegedly happened in December last year and the pregnancy, which was understood to be a result of rape, was later terminated lawfully.
Rundogo yesterday appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mr Hoseah Mujaya for trial commencement, but the trial failed to start after the defence sought for a postponement of the matter to April 30.
Through his lawyer Mr Godwin Nyengedza, Rundogo indicated that the State was yet to furnish him with relevant documents to enable him to come up with a defence.
Mr Nyengedza also indicated to the court that his client intended to engage the services of Advocate Thabani Mpofu, who he said was engaged at the High Court and would only be available on April 30.
Prosecutor Miss Rudo Chasi did not oppose the application for postponement.
She told the court that the defence requested for the doctor who carried out the termination to ascertain the DNA of the foetus and also the police logbook for the purposes of trial.
Mr Mujaya rolled over the matter to April 30.
It is alleged that on December 29 last year, at around 1pm, the victim received a phone call from Rundogo, who instructed her to come and meet him in town.
He allegedly told her that he wanted to give her money for groceries.
The following day, the complainant met Rundogo at Market Square in Harare and he took her to his offices at Longcheng Plaza.
While they were sitting in his office, he gave the complainant $900 and told her that it was for her upkeep.
It is the State’s case that Rundogo went into another room and took out a mattress and put it on the floor in his office.
The State further alleged that Rundogo forcibly dragged the victim to the mattress and raped her.
When schools opened, the complainant, who is a boarder, went back to school without telling anyone about the alleged rape.
On February 12, the victim decided to open up and informed her class teacher of what had transpired.
She was advised to file a police report, which she did. She was then referred to a hospital for medical examination where it was found that she was pregnant.
The pregnancy was later terminated lawfully. The Herald
