ZIMDEF boss thrown under the bus

By Zvikomborero Parafini

The trial of ZIMDEF boss Leonard Rwambiwa, who is facing indecent assault charges, took a twist yesterday after he was thrown under the bus by witnesses who confirmed the complainant’s testimony.

The State led by Carol Mutimusakwa continued its case by leading evidence from Candice Gurira who told the court that the complainant opened up to her after she quizzed her as she was in a bad mood.

Gurira narrated that after she had been made aware of the indecent assault, she confronted Rwambiwa over the serious allegations that had been labelled against him.

“The complainant indicated that she had been molested and was crying uncontrollably, I told her that such behavior was unacceptable especially from the boss and I decided to confront him.

“I went to his office and found the door open and asked if I could talk to him for a minute and I advised him that the complainant was crying downstairs because he had fondled her.

“He raised his hands in shock and asked me if I was sure of what I was saying, I asked if he could have done it by mistake then suggested that I call the complainant so that he could apologize if it was the case that he had made body contact with her by mistake.

“I went back to my workstation to catch up with some work and when I tried to locate the complainant, she must have been busy with her duties as I couldn’t find her,” said Gurira.

Gurira also disproved Rwambiwa’s office was an open plan that doesn’t allow for body contact to go unnoticed telling the court that his office is a standalone office that for one to see what was going inside, they had to be inside it.

When Rwambiwa’s lawyer asked her why she had not gone with the complainant immediately she said, “The state that she was in could have drawn attention so I gave her time to cool down.”

The State also led evidence from ZIMDEF receptionist Nomatter Tsomondo who confirmed the complainant’s testimony that this wasn’t the first time that she had revealed the indecent assault by Rwambiwa.

“It wasn’t the first time that he had molested her according to what she had told me, I think she first told me about the allegations in 2015, but I didn’t do anything as I didn’t know how to go about it.

“She had told me prior that whenever she met him in a secluded place, he would molest her breasts or buttocks without her consent,” said Tsomondo.

Rwambiwa’s lawyer placed notice to apply for discharge after prosecutor Mutimusakwa closed her case. The matter was deferred to August 7 for ruling. H Metro